Being an apprentice STILL SUCKS!
by manga ranga
Summary: Several years have passed since the death of Dr Finklestein. Jack is still struggling to reunite his town as one now social divisions have been made. Little does he realise that the troubles for him and his town will only escalate with time.
1. Lessons

Several years have passed since Dr Finklestein's demise. His years of work in Halloweentown to raise his status and respect had come crashing down when his true nature was revealed. He had sacrificed a whole clan of monsters for his greatest invention, the Soul Robber. He openly despised and hated half-lifes, beings that were stuck between the boundaries of living and undead. His actions had led to a split in Halloweentown. Not only between the undead, living and half-lifes but also between those who fed on humans and those who did not.

Its citizens began to fear the unknown… Most didn't even realise there was a division between the monster races of Halloweentown until Dr Finklestein had introduced the concept. He had brainwashed Jack's son Jason into believing it. The result of which led to the Pumpkin Prince's attempted destruction of Halloweentown. Jack however stopped the madness with the help of the remaining Crime Lords, monsters with power in town only second to the Pumpkin Monarchy (at times they were greater depending on the situation). Jason was then imprisoned in the catacombs while Dr Finklestein met a gruesome end at the hands of Jack.

In the meantime, the Crime Lords had chosen their own heirs to their positions of prestige. Boogie, Oogie's sister, had chosen Shock, the witch thief and former Boogie Boy, to head the illegal gambling ring. Mr Hyde, the town historian, had selected Kamen, the mummy boy and avid music lover, to become the next keeper of Halloweentown's knowledge and secrets. Behemoth, the genius in disguise as a dim-witted man, had elected Lock, the cunning devil and former Boogie Boy, to lead the alcohol distribution. Harlequin, the colourful and charismatic demon, had decided to pass his duty to Hayley, his half vampire and half demon daughter, to control the flow of foreign trinkets from the human world. Finally, Maul, the terrifying werewolf, had chosen Shadow, a Joker and torturer, to take his place as the hitman of Halloweentown.

With time, Jack hoped that his people would forget Dr Finklestein's theories and concepts. He hoped his town could return to its old ways of maniacal madness and fright. But once a bombshell like that had hit, there would always be people willing to uphold it. Unfortunately, the trials ahead for Halloweentown would not be easy to overcome given its new view of its citizens.

* * *

The full moon hung above the crooked streets of Hemlock Homestead. A young ghoul slept peacefully in his bed. His small home was as twisted as the rest of Halloweentown. The surrounding architecture was nightmarish and surreal, giving a terrifying beauty to the whole scene. By now it had recovered from Jason and Dr Finklestein's rampage. The buildings had been restored to their former spooky glory.

He was awakened abruptly by the sound of scratching echoing bellow his bed. Half dazed he knelt down on the floor. It was common to see night time shades and monsters creep under your bed or hide in your closet. They liked being in dark, small spaces.

The young ghoul paused nervously. He was expecting the glowing red eyes and fanged maw of an under-bed monster. He was greeted by an eerie sight. Two eyes stared at him. The pupils of which were blue. A violet marking rested bellow the left eye like a jester doll. They all glowed with eerie lights. A hand emerged from the darkness bellow his bed, it was chalky white with a glowing purple swirl on the back of it.

"Get away from me!" He squealed as he pulled away from the hand, practically tripping over his own feet as he tried to escape it.

The hand became an arm, the arm then followed to a shoulder. Something was emerging from bellow the darkness of his bed. Almost like the shadows were acting as a doorway for the strange being.

"I mean it! Get away from me!" The young ghoul shouted "HELP! HELP! THERE'S A FILTHY HALF-LIFE IN HERE!"

A voice confidently answered "Scream all you want, no one will come. My illusions have seen to that."

He looked up to see someone sitting on the edge of his bed. A woman with alabaster skin, probably in her late twenties, she was rather average in the looks and on the heavier side of normal weight. Yet he still couldn't help but notice her developed womanly curves. She tried her best to conceal them beneath a baggy black shirt and a pair of loose jeans. Upon her shirt was a large image of a demonic crescent moon devouring the sun. Her messy red hair was kept at bay in a wild ponytail beneath her black and indigo jester cap.

"Joker scum! I know what you do!"

She replied calmly "I always thought ghouls would understand. I mean, you do feed on humans from time to time."

"But we fucking don't torture them like you do. You twisted, evil, sick freak! Go back to Sleepy Hollow and be with your own freaky clan and just die. You don't even know the meaning of Halloween…"

She didn't pay attention to the ghoul's ramblings. She just sat there blankly staring at the floor as she thought_ 'It's always the same. People either love me for my torturing abilities or despise me. I can't help what I am. I can't change the way I've been brought up. I can't stop being a Joker because that is what I am…'_

"Shut. Up."

The ghoul followed her command as she stared at him with her icy blue eyes. He began to regret giving off his ranting speech. He knew that only the finest witches could break a Joker's illusion. The Joker clan was renowned for torturing humans both mentally with their illusions and physically with their sick methods. Once they tired of their victims, the Jokers would then devour them.

"I'm not here for petty revenge. I don't really care if you like or dislike me." She unravelled a satchel she had concealed behind her. It revealed numerous intimidating implements for torture. She informed calmly "I've merely come to shut you up, you opinionated bastard before the blood of innocent half-lifes can be spilt."

The ghoul cringed, she knew of his plans. He spat "You… fucking sadistic whore!"

It didn't matter what he said. He knew he wasn't going to survive to see the next morning.

* * *

Maul howled at the full moon. As a werewolf he couldn't help it. His jaws were lined with razor sharp fangs. His eyes were a sickly green with a slit like pupils. A tattered old shirt was stretched over his muscular body. He stood in the briars calmly where you could see Spiral Hill, the monument of Halloweentown, quite easily. The surreal landscape was only mystified with a beautiful curiosity by the light of the moon and darkness of night.

His ears twitched as he heard someone approach. He turned to see a jester woman approach him. She walked with a slight limp, an irreversible scar from her battle with Dr Finklestein.

He smirked "Shadow, everything go alright."

"Fine, I already notified Gil to clean the body away."

"Good, good."

"Maul… why did you want me to kill that ghoul tonight? He was just a teenager…"

Maul put one of his massive arms around her shoulders as he said "Whoa, Shadow, this is why the apprenticeship to this position takes so long. Whilst you may not have to learn the methods, there's a lot of ethics to being a hitman. You always have to perform the greater good."

She looked to him, lost and confused "What do you mean?"

"Well, that ghoul you killed tonight was the leader of a half-life and human eater hate club. Quite hypocritical given he was a ghoul too." Maul sighed "He had to die so the club would disperse, most of the members are young just looking for a place to fit in. They'll never follow it seriously. It isn't about what we want as people, it's about doing things to maintain the peace. What is one life compared to a hundred lives that would be destroyed by that club's existence."

"I guess you're right… my clan is familiar with the concept of the greater good. We only torture the sinful and cruel hearted humans." Shadow nervously looked at her feet. It wasn't that she disliked torturing or killing her victims. She had already assassinated a few monsters over the past few years. _'It's trying to work out the bigger picture that always gets me down…'_

"It's not an easy life Shadow. No one likes doing the job we do."

"I know, but… what if we've made a mistake in killing the wrong person?"

"Then we pay for the consequences. Remember that, we always deal with the consequences no matter how gruesome they may be."

"I see…"

Maul patted her on the head as he said "Now then, you better get home. Your boyfriend will probably be waiting for you."

She corrected strongly "Spectre is not my boyfriend. He's just a room mate that happens to get intimate with me when I'm in the mood."

"You mean a sex buddy?"

Shadow sighed "I didn't want to put it so crudely, but yes."

Maul cackled wickedly. He turned to leave after waving to her "Well, I better get going before my wife gets angry with me."

"See ya Maul." Shadow waved back to him as they went their separate ways.


	2. It's a secret!

Shadow calmly walked through the Acid Works. The night was still young (by Halloweentown standards) but she was in no mood to go to 'Harlequin's Hideout' tonight. She moved past the strange architecture that surrounded the ominous tower before her. The flowing river of acid was just bellow the metal bridge she was walking across. For fun she kicked a wandering frog into the river. She smirked slightly at watching it melt and congeal in the acid.

Ahead of her was her current home, the twisted tower that once belonged to Dr Finklestein. It sat proudly on a high hill overlooking the surrounding madness of the Acid Works. All of it had been constructed by the late doctor and his assistant Igor decades ago. Shadow made it to the door and went inside. The lights were on. The CD player the lab had acquired from Harlequin was blaring out music from the human world loudly upstairs. Obviously Spectre was still working in the main lab.

"_I must've dreamed a thousand dreams. Been haunted by a million screams. But I can hear the marching feet, they're moving into the street. Now did you read the news today. They say the danger's gone away. But I can see the fire's still alight. There burning into the night."_

The business of mad science was evenly divided now between four individuals. Shadow was amongst them, she was the specialist for biological experiments. Spectre, the new official mad scientist of Halloweentown, handled all mechanical devices. Igor still remained as a lab assistant and tutor to the newcomers to the job but under Spectre's encouragement had now dared to perform his own experiments. Jewel, Dr Finklestein's creation and wife, was now a botanist, her knowledge of plants and their effects were second to none so it was a logical step.

Shadow continued upstairs. She had become accustomed to the tower's layout. The kitchen and entrance hall were on the lowest floor. As you progressed up the ramp you passed various doors leading into the private chambers of each occupant and a few storage rooms. At the top was the main laboratory where main experiments were performed. She knew Spectre was the only one home at the moment otherwise the CD player would be off (or turned down). Jewel and Igor often went out at night to enjoy a social life they weren't allowed to have under Dr Finklestein.

"_There's too many men, too many people, making too many problems and not much love to go round. Can't you see? This is a land of confusion. This is the world we live in and these are the hands we're given. Use them and let's start trying, to make it a place worth living in."_

Spectre was a tall corpse boy, his eyes were framed by dark shadows and his skin was pale and chalky. The skin around his left eye had completely torn away up to the eyebrow. Having no eye lid had lead his left eye to take a blood red colour. His brown hair was frayed and tied into a stumpy brush of a ponytail, the tips of his hair were charred black like he had been struck by lightning. He was dressed casually in a pair of loose black trousers and a grey and orange hoodie with the sleeves torn off at his elbows. His boots were made of steel and looked heavy.

Unlike most living corpses, Spectre had taken matters into his own hands when his left arm kept falling away due to decomposition. He had constructed a mechanical arm from scrap metal. Over the years he had made upgrades to accommodate for his growth from a child to an adult. It used to run on batteries. But Shadow had made a few alterations, plugging the wires that fuelled it into his spinal chord eliminated the use for batteries.

Tonight he had the laboratory to himself. Spectre enjoyed it like this because he could work privately in the main lab and listen to music from the human world without Jewel or Igor complaining about the volume. He sat at his workbench, intently and carefully working on a small mechanical component. It was to act as a battery core for something greater. His foot tapped the floor in rhythm with the drums of the music.

"_Ooh superman where are you now? When everything's gone wrong somehow. The men of steel, the men of power, are loosing control by the hour. This is the time. This is the place. So we look to the future. But there's not much love to go round. Tell my why, this is a land of confusion!"_

Spectre shivered as he felt a familiar presence behind him. He had become accustomed to her silent entrances into areas. He looked over his shoulder to see Shadow in the laboratory. She was looking through a book case, searching for something.

He remarked as he turned back to his work "You're home early."

"Well it was a short lesson tonight with Maul." She answered as she found her book "That and I promised to meet Jack and Sally here at midnight."

"Really? What about?"

"That's kinda private Spectre."

"Oh come on! You can tell me. You know I'm good at keeping secrets."

That much was true. Shadow and Spectre often compared notes and shared ideas for experiments in order to refine their work. They were both interrupted by a loud gurgle.

Shadow shook her head and remarked "You forgot to eat again, didn't you?"

"Well… I was busy." Spectre answered "Now tell me what Jack and Sally wanted you to look into. You're not usually this secret with work. It's weird."

"Stop bugging me about this, or else I'll tell Jewel you're forgetting to eat again." Shadow added before he could argue "And I'll tell Igor you're not wearing your lab uniform in the lab."

Spectre paused as he tried to think of a reply. Jewel and Igor were very scary when they were angry or displeased with you. He let out a sigh "Fine, I won't bug you about it."

Shadow pinched Spectre by the ear. She said "However, you still need to eat something. You may be undead but your body still needs sustenance."

"Alright, alright, I'll go get something now." Spectre growled as he left the room. Shadow left too as the CD player kept working.

"_This is the world we live in and these are the hands we're given. Use them and let's start trying, to make this a place worth living in."_

Spectre wandered down the ramp and towards the kitchen. His mind was interrupted as he heard a knock at the metal front door. Behind the door came sounds of talking and laughter.

'_I hope it's not the Mayor again. How many times do I have to repair that hearse?'_ Glancing at the clock he realised it was midnight. In Halloweentown it wasn't unusual to receive visitors at this hour. He opened the door to find two individuals.

The strange pair consisted of a tall, slender skeleton. He was immaculately dressed in a black pinstripe suit. Tattered tails billowed behind him. A bat bow tie rested at his slender neck. Beside him was a living ragdoll. Despite being scarred and stitched she was still eerily beautiful. Her long red hair cascaded around her. Her modest dress was made from patches of various fabrics.

The skeleton bowed out of courtesy "Ghastly evening tonight. Isn't it wonderful?"

"Jack, Sally." Spectre said as he recognised the ragdoll and the skeleton "Shadow is expecting you, just upstairs in her chamber."

"Thankyou Spectre." Sally said as she brushed past with her husband. The Pumpkin King and Queen ascended the ramp and headed to the higher chambers.

'_Still… I wonder what Shadow's up to…'_ Spectre's thoughts were interrupted as his stomach groaned in protest. He hurried off to kitchen. The sooner he ate, the sooner he could get back to playing with machinery.

* * *

_Lyrics from "Land of Confusion" by Disturbed_


	3. Bitter truth

Sally felt nostalgic as she stood in her old room. It had now been claimed by Shadow and had been transformed partly into a study and miniature laboratory. Despite the fact it had been years since the ragdoll last stood in this chamber, it still felt like home to her. For most of her life she had been imprisoned in this room by Dr Finklestein.

Jack gazed at the diagrams and blueprints sprawled out before him. His natural curiosity was getting the better of him as he flicked through the pages. He pulled out a few and asked Shadow "These plans look very good, how long until you make them reality?"

"There's still a few bumps I need to sort out. Most of it won't be ready for a few years." Shadow answered calmly "So how's Sabre?"

"He's excellent, loves his cave near the black lake."

Sabre was a resurrected demon dragon, a collaborated effort between Shadow and Boogie for Jack. Combined with the power of zombified dragon, Jack was able to defeat his son in combat over Halloweentown.

"Say Shadow, the dryads are getting restless. They want to become more intimidating but cannot grow to the full length of a tree. Is it possible to give their growth a boost before Halloween?"

The Joker replied "That's more along the lines of Jewel's work. She specialises in plants. I can ask her for you if you're busy."

"Just tell her to come to town hall tomorrow morning at ten please."

"No problem."

"Uh… Shadow…" Sally nervously started "The other matter we asked you to look in to… have you found any answers for us?"

Shadow took a deep breath as she contemplated her answer. She said carefully "I'm afraid it's impossible to achieve your wish."

"Are you sure? There's no chance at all?"

"It is biologically impossible for you and Jack to reproduce. Skeletons have a very difficult process when it comes to reproduction. Even the details of it are sketchy and elusive in my research."

Sally sighed sadly. She gazed at her feet trying to hide her tears "So… we can't have a child together. We can't produce an heir to take over for Jack."

Jack held his wife close as he suggested "Can't you just perform the same experiment as Dr Finklestein? Just make us a child?"

"I'm afraid not. If I just made one for you, it… um…" Shadow rethought her answer as she explained "I can take some of your marrow and some of Sally's hair. Produce some gametes artificially, create a zygote and implant it into a surrogate mother. Genetically speaking it would be yours, but it would not be real offspring in a biological sense."

"What do you mean? If Sally and I are the parents wouldn't that make it ours?"

"Ethically speaking, a scientist with power over genetics can actually tweak the design of that child from birth. I… I don't want pressure like that on me if something goes wrong. I'm already feared and loathed by many citizens in this town."

"Tweak the design of that child…"

Sally interrupted "You said before the child would have no future. What have you found out?"

"It's just a hypothesis but during my research, Jewel dug up some of Dr Finklestein's old files from when he created Jason using your genetic material and merely built it into the shell of a skeletal ragdoll. Dr Finklestein probably messed his brain up, he made Jason to be his servant. To be honest… Jason was doomed to never fulfil his duty as a king. He was never biologically deemed your offspring."

Shadow nervously looked to Jack and Sally. She regrettably informed "Technically speaking, offspring is the child resulting from two parents that is capable of reproducing. Due to the difference in your species you can't reproduce naturally and even if you created offspring artificially the child… the child would be sterile. They wouldn't be able to reproduce once they reached sexual maturity. The Skellington monarchy would end with that child."

She read their faces. Sally was utterly devastated at the findings. It must've been heart breaking to know you couldn't have a normal life with your soul mate. Jack on the other hand was stunned but at the same time regarded Shadow with suspicion.

"I know my theory of Dr Finklestein's corruption of Jason is a little farfetched but given what that duck mutant did it isn't impossible and yes, I know I'm biased because I didn't have a good relation with him when he was alive. That sorta thing happens when people try to kill me." Shadow handed Jack and Sally a thick file "Here is all the research I found on the matter. Feel free to go over it if you have any doubts. But scientifically, I cannot create a child for you…"

Jack was the one to take the file. He cradled it in his skeletal arms timidly. His usual confidence was shattered as the information sank in. Sally was the first one to speak "Thankyou… thankyou for your honesty…"

"I'm sorry I couldn't be of any help." Shadow admitted as the Pumpkin King and Queen left her chambers.

* * *

Shadow watched sadly as Jack and Sally wandered off into the Acid Works and back towards town. She closed the heavy door slowly. It was hard trying to deliver such grim news to such nice people. It wasn't fair. Jack and Sally were magnificent leaders of Halloweentown, yet their personal lives seemed to be probed with nothing but problems.

'_I wish I could've made a difference… they've always been so fair to me…'_ thought Shadow.

She headed into the kitchen to get a glass of water. Picking up an old goblet, Shadow turned on the tap and filled it.

"What're you so sad about?"

The remark stunned Shadow. Water shot out of her nose as she tried to calm her coughing fit. A hand hit her back as the voice said "Calm down, it's only me."

Shadow turned to her friend "Yeah, I know Shock. But you should know I'm not good with sudden surprises."

Shock was a green skinned witch with wavy jet black hair. She had deep purple shadows around her eyes and over her eyelids. A tall purple witch hat perched on her head. She wore a pair of purple flares edged with purple swirl patterns. Her shirt was a tattered black singlet that stretched out over her shoulders like claws. Beneath the tatters were tight purple sleeves that were trimmed with more tattered black fabric. A tight black and grey bodice decorated with bats was around her narrow contours. She wore a pair of pointed black boots, grey gloves and a violet choker.

"How did you get in here anyway? Did Spectre let you in?"

Shock proudly remarked "Remember Shadow, I'm a thief, I know how to get into places."

She took note of the heavy bag by Shock's side and the broom on the witch's back. It was obvious Shock had been stealing again tonight.

"So what brings you here tonight?" Shadow added casually "Needed a place to hide for a few hours?"

"Naturally. Vampires are very picky about their possessions."

Shadow was rummaging through the pantry. She said "So where's Lock and Barrel tonight?"

"Lock is with Behemoth learning about making moonshine. Barrel is probably with Hayley down at the Hideout. Speaking of which, how come you haven't been down lately?"

"Just been busy." Shadow's movements appeared to grow frantic as she continued to search the pantry.

Shock casually added "Well you better be there for the pirate party this weekend. It's all in honour of some human event called 'Talk like a pirate day'… whatever that means."

"Is that also the costume party?"

"Yeah, it looks like fun." Shock appeared by Shadow's side "What're you looking for anyway?"

"I usually keep a jar of human spinal chords fermenting in cerebrospinal fluid in here…"

"Midnight snacks?"

"No, just an occasional treat when I need a pick me up and trust me, I really need a pick me up after a day like this."

"Where do you get human stuff anyway?"

"There are many places in town to buy this stuff from. You just need to know where to look."

"I'll take your word for it." Shock dared not to go into the matter. She wasn't a type of monster who fed on humans. Yet she was still curious about them. Out of her friends, the only ones that fed on humans were Shadow, Hayley, Fang and Scarlet, so Shock would usually ask subtle questions about eating humans around them.

Shadow sighed "I just don't understand where it could've gone. I don't eat it that often and even then you can only eat a quarter of a chord before the flavour overwhelms you."

"Spinal chords even give creatures like you indigestion?"

"Nerves usually do that's why creatures who feed frequently on humans like werewolves eat the flesh rather than the spinal chord. Their flavour is so abundant and strong, you get horrible stomach cramps if you eat too much of it."

"That sucks… maybe Spectre knows where it is?"

"Wait a minute, he was in here before I came down… oh… shit!" Shadow sprinted out of the room. Out of curiosity Shock followed her.

* * *

The light was still on in the main laboratory hinting Spectre had retreated back there. Shock followed Shadow as the Joker ran quickly into the chamber. The witch calmly glanced around remembering sweetly how she stole from this place when Dr Finklestein was still alive. It was always fun robbing this location because of all the defences put in place to guard it. Shock glanced at the scorch marks on the metal floor. It was a stain on the memory of the battle that happened in this chamber several years ago, the battle that ended the life of Dr Finklestein.

"Spectre? Are you in here?" Shadow's voice brought Shock back to reality.

Shock noticed an empty jar on a nearby bench. A label on it read 'Property of Shadow. Do not touch.' She casually picked it up.

Spectre's voice replied "What?"

Shadow looked over to see him on the ground, knelt down near his workbench. She said "What're you doing there?"

"I… uh… dropped something on the floor." Something in his voice sounded strange.

A jar was brought to Shadow's attention as Shock waved it in front of her. The witch commented "I believe your suspicions were right."

The Joker looked almost astounded by the discovery. She stomped over to Spectre and said "You emptied out the whole jar!"

Spectre raised his head slightly in her direction "Sorry Shadow, I'll buy you a new jar of marinated snake muscles. Maybe it was lucky I ate them… they were probably off or something. I got a major stomach ache…"

"Spectre, those weren't snake muscles…"

"What was it then?"

"Human spinal chords in cerebrospinal fluid."

"Really? They were delicious." Spectre winced as he tried to straighten up but failed.

"You bloody idiot! I put labels on my stuff for a reason!" Shadow punched him in the head "You don't eat nine and half spinal chords in one sitting! Living corpses don't even eat humans so I can't imagine what it's doing to your stomach now."

"When does it get better?"

"It'll probably get worse."

Spectre shivered as his stomach groaned loudly. He snapped "What!? It feels like my innards are being twisted in all directions! How can it get worse?"

"Let's get you into bed and I'll give you a sedative. That way at least you'll be asleep til Jewel gets back. She probably has some plant cure for you." Shadow looked over at Shock "Mind helping me out a little?"

With the support of Shock and Shadow, Spectre was able to get to his feet at least. Even though the crippling pain in his gut made it impossible to make him stand up straight. He hobbled and somehow made it to his bed. He wasn't sure how, his mind was too overcome with pain. He dropped into his bed gratefully.

He dumbly asked with pain numbed brain "Is this how it feels to be a girl at that time of the month?"

Shock remarked "Yeah, count yourself lucky you don't get PMS or start bleeding anyway. You know Spectre, for someone who's so smart you really do perform some stupid things. Sometimes I wonder if you're dumber than Lock and Barrel."

"… shut up… damn, I can't think of anything good to say as a comeback."

Shadow knelt down by Spectre's side with a syringe in hand. Without a second thought she pierced it into his neck. The movement was precise, accurate, smooth, she had done this action many times before on individuals. She injected a clear fluid into him. Spectre almost instantly fell asleep.

"Well, that's taken care of." Shock commented "I need a drink."

"Kahlua alright with you? Harlequin got me a bottle of it recently from the human world."

"Yeah, let's have some."

Shock and Shadow left the chamber so Spectre could sleep.


	4. Lock freaks out XD

Sally never quite adjusted to the silence of Skellington Manor. Ever since she had become a mother she had grown accustomed to the sounds of her son and visitors coming to visit the young prince. But, now there was nothing. Skeletal hands ran over her shoulders, heading lower and coming to rest on her hips.

Jack said softly into her ear "We'll find another way Sally. We can't give up yet."

The ragdoll stared ahead as she monotonously replied "I don't know if it is possible… maybe you should go with someone better than me. Many monsters agree that we were never meant to be a couple."

He turned her around so they were facing each other. Jack noticed the tears rolling down her stitched face. He gently wiped them away and said "No, they're wrong. You're the only woman I've ever loved so we are meant to be."

Sally felt Jack's arms pull her closer, gently stroking her long red hair as he kissed her. Jack told her "We'll go see Mr Hyde tomorrow. He must have details of other skeletons in this area related to my family. Everything will work out Sally. I promise."

* * *

The briars were shrouded in a misty darkness as the early hours of the morning dawned. Sunrise was only hours away now. The fog was beginning to settle back into the rivers that twisted through the areas like venomous snakes. The crows were beginning to caw in a sinister manner. Lock calmly strolled through the briars paying little attention to the scary scenery. He had finished his lessons with Behemoth for the night.

Now in his late twenties, Lock had become more attractive than he was as a teenager. He had dangerous yellow eyes surrounded by red shadows, his fiery red hair was ruffled and messy the front half of it curved like the horns of a devil. To finish the devil image he even had a long devil tail. He wore a dark red T-shirt with a brighter red shirt over the top. The top shirt had its sleeves torn roughly off and was tattered from over usage, a dark red path sewn to the lower part of this shirt with a dark evil face smiling on it. He wore a pair of long dark red flares that was torn partly around his right knee and a pair of strange shoes that curved like an elf. Around his neck and wrists were thick spiked leather bracelets.

He wandered beneath the pale moonlight. His mind also sauntered at a lazy pace as he reminisced of Shock in erotic garments and positions. It felt good to have a steady relationship. No more fleeing manors at daylight from fear of retribution from the girl's families. No more worrying about contracting some weird infection from one night stands. With Shock, he knew where she had been and there was no family to pester him afterwards.

Unfortunately his lustful daydreams were interrupted crudely. Ghosts were howling and playing up. They were screaming incoherently in wavering voices. They swept past Lock and throughout the briars in a panic. The devil was perplexed. Ghosts were only afraid of one thing, humans (why else would they moan wildly and panic at the sight of them?) and Halloweentown wasn't a place humans could take refuge or dwell. Most of the residents did feed on them after all.

Lock shook his head and kept walking with the thought _'Stupid ghosts, they're just acting like freaks again. What a laugh!'_

He started to snigger at the idea. Ghosts weren't exactly known in Halloweentown for their sanity. Without warning, someone crashed into him. Lock hit the ground hard. Rubbing his head as he sat up he snarled "Watch where you're fucking goi… WHAT THE FUCK!?"

The one who had crashed into him was also picking himself up. It was a tall human, probably in his early twenties with brown hair and brown eyes. He was dressed in fine clothes of Halloweentown nobility. A collared shirt, vest and trousers all coloured with vivid patterns of gold and black. A pentacle dangled at his collar. His black and white boots were decorated with demon designs. He looked at Lock with utter fear.

Lock tilted his head in curiosity at the boy. _'Great, another stupid human wandered into Halloweentown. Oh well, the werewolves will get him soon in this area. Wait, why is he wearing Halloweentown clothes?'_

The boy snapped "What're you looking at?"

Lock replied coldly "I was going to ask you the same thing."

He straightened his suit as he stood up "Sorry for bumping into you but I'm in a hurry. Ghosts are spooked too easily by me… actually, most people round here are."

"You don't say…" Lock tried to stop laughing out loud _'Is this guy a complete moron?'_

The human regarded Lock with suspicion. He confidently put his hand out "Anyway, I'm Jonathan Halliwell. And you are?"

"Lock." answered the devil as he shook Jonathan's hand. To his horror something felt wrong.

Lock glanced at the hand shake. The flesh around Jonathan's hand was rapidly decomposing. The muscles and skin dripping and flaking away like it had rotted long ago. Within seconds the flesh had congealed away into a viscous mass, oozing between their fingers and dripping to the ground. Lock was holding a bloodied skeletal hand. Yet Jonathan looked perfectly calm like nothing odd was happening.

He took his hand back from the devil. It instantly solidified and returned to looking normal. Jonathan smirked to himself. Lock had gone paler than usual. His face hid no emotion as an expression of terror and surprise was twisted with his features.

"Well, I'll just be going home now. Maybe I'll see you again Lock." Jonathan smiled as he disappeared into the night _'Idiot, why people around here they think that just because I look like a human it means I am a human?'_

Lock remained stunned in the darkened briars. His brain couldn't work out what had just happened. The only thoughts he had was _'Who was that freak and why haven't I seen him before!?'_

* * *

"Wow! You can actually read necromancy legends now?"

Barrel paused from retrieving shot glasses and a bottle of vodka. He poked his head around from the ramshackle kitchen area of the tree house. With time the humble hideout of the Boogie's Boys has evolved and been rebuilt to accommodate the lifestyles of the former henchman. It was still messy and scrappier than most homes in Halloweentown. It was still littered with weapons and dangerous possessions.

"Not really Hayley, that's one of Shock's books." Barrel answered nervously "But I can read the Spot the dog books all by myself now without getting anything wrong."

Hayley giggled to herself as she glanced at her boyfriend. Barrel was tall and burly around the same age as her. His bloodshot eyes were surrounded by indigo shadows and his green and black hair was thick and ragged. He had large three pointed toes. A baggy dark green shirt with an orange swirl patch sewn to the right shoulder. As well as a dark grey loose shirt with bone patterns stitched on the front. The sleeves of which had been torn off. His baggy pair of dark grey trousers with bone patterns stitched to the front of them.

Barrel frowned and folded his arms "Hey, don't laugh. It's not fun being dyslexic like this. Not to mention I never went to school so I was illiterate until my teenage years."

"Aw come on, don't be such a cry baby. You know I care about you." Hayley hugged him tightly. It was a comforting and reassuring gesture.

Barrel couldn't help but run his hands down her robust, feminine contours. Hayley, the result of a one night stand between Harlequin and Countess Bloodrain was an odd combination of demon and vampire. Her eyes were bright green with black pupils. Her skin was a charcoal black. She had a short mane of silvery hair around her face with three orange and black striped tentacles extending from the back of her head. There was a gold ring around each digit of her three fingered hand. Her torso covered in a tunic of orange and grey scales that were attached to the skin. A pair of tattered yellow pants covered her long legs allowing her three toed paw like feet to stick out.

Hayley stopped him momentarily as she reminded "You know, Lock or Shock could walk in any minute. Wouldn't it be better if we went into your room?"

"Nope, let's do this now!" Barrel cheered as he picked Hayley up with one arm.

"You do realise, my scales are coming loose."

Despite her height and tomboyish demeanour, Hayley giggled like a girl as Barrel swang her onto the couch effortlessly. He pinned her down. He leaned in close and kissed her lips. His mouth worked down her face and neck. Hayley moaned with pleasure. The scales around her body parted and slid away with Barrel's movements revealing the charcoal skin beneath them.

It was a natural part of Hayley's cycle. Every so often, her scales would malt and fall away from the skin on her torso. It would then re-grow overnight.

"You guys are not gonna fucking believe what I saw today!" announced Lock. He shattered the lustful atmosphere as her stormed into the tree house completely oblivious to Barrel and Hayley's current situation.

Barrel gritted through his teeth "Uh… Lock… mind coming back in a few hours?"

Lock however ignored his room-mate's comment. He kept talking in his own imaginary conversation "A human! A stupid human walking around the briars like he owned the place. Then guess what! His hand! It fucking melted to a skeletal one! Since when the fuck could humans pull shit like that!? I thought they were useless!"

Hayley reminded in a matter of fact way "Humans can't turn their bodies into skeletons Lock so obviously it wasn't human. How much spare moonshine did you swig at Behemoth's tonight?"

"I barely touched that stuff tonight and I wasn't hallucinating!" Lock growled as he dropped down into a nearby armchair "He even had a name!"

Barrel and Hayley untangled and sat up properly on the coffin couch. With annoyance Barrel said "What was the name of this human-ish thing?"

Lock shook his head "Jonathan Halliwell, some weirdo! I can't even believe what I saw."

Hayley quickly added "Halliwell? You serious?"

"You know him?" Lock was on his knees before Hayley like he was desperate for information.

"Not really but there's an old legend in the witch's district. I don't know much but apparently there was a witch with the last name of Halliwell who lived there over twenty five years ago. She frequented the human world on many nights aside from Halloween."

Barrel added "What's odd about that? You and your Dad go to the human world to steal stuff all the time."

Hayley took a deep breath. She dramatically said "Well apparently she was having an affair with a human male. A very intense, passionate affair."

"No way!" Barrel shook his head in disbelief.

Lock folded his arms, this story sounded very farfetched. He grumbled "How can we be sure that's true?"

Hayley smirked "Ask Shock, she'd know about it. All witches do. Also, my dad was the one who helped this witch travel between here and the human world safely."

"No shit…" Lock fell silent as he pondered this information _'What kind of kid would a witch and human make anyway?'_

Barrel dared to ask his girlfriend "How do you slip to the human world undetected anyway? I thought there was some boundary between our worlds that only fell down at Halloween."

She answered confidently "Like all boundaries there will always be holes to exploit. How else would humans randomly pop up here shortly before dying at one of the hands of citizens?"

"So where's your hole located?"

Lock stared at Barrel with confusion. Obviously Barrel hadn't realised the sexual innuendo associated with that question. Hayley just laughed loudly. She patted him on the head "The portal we use is none of your business. Besides if you didn't know where my hole was by now, I'd be a little worried."

* * *

_Disclaimer note_

_Jonathan Halliwell/the Halliwell Family (C) skeletonjon (on here & deviantART)_


	5. A normal morning

Jack strolled down the twisted paths of Hemlock Homestead that dreary morning. The gradual degradation of buildings continued like a progressing living timeline as the Pumpkin King found himself deeper and deeper in the neighbourhood. In the past, districts like this had been abandoned but the older buildings were occupied by those who were made homeless by Jason's attempted overthrow of his father.

A light flickered in a house up ahead through its only slim window. From the state of the building it was probably the oldest in the area. Jack came to the heavy iron door of the ominous house. He knocked three times, the signal someone had come for information and not a social visit. The door creaked open ominously. A withered old ghoul opened the door. His wiry hair stuck out crazily beneath his oversized top hat. A dark green jacket, black trousers and pointed boots covered his ancient body.

Mr Hyde bowed "Good morning Jack. Come in."

The skeleton bowed to show mutual respect "Sorry to call on you so early in the morning Mr Hyde."

"Not at all, you should know I don't sleep."

They came out to the hermit's main room. It was a massive library crammed with all manners of documents and texts. Hanging above them were more shelves and elaborate chandeliers that illuminated the room. Standing to the side flicking through books was Mr Hyde's apprentice.

Mr Hyde called to the tall, lanky mummy "Kamen, stop your readings, we have a guest."

His only bloodshot eye still peered out from the tangle of bandages on his face. There were two loose trails of tourniquet dangling from the back of his head. In his teenage years Kamen had adopted the hobby of dressing like a pimp. So everywhere he went he wore his aquamarine hat with an orange band and purple feather on it, combined with the glory of his long pimping coat which was coloured with orange and purple stripes, aquamarine lining and flowing collar.

Kamen bowed courteously towards Jack "Your majesty."

The skeleton grinned "Good to see you Kamen, how's Malice?"

"She's very well."

Jack sighed to himself. The severity of the situation felt so odd to him. Usually organising things amongst the Mayor and his daughter, Malice, along with the citizens was chaotic fun. Yet the crime lords seemed to operate at a different level. There was no time for jokes or mischief, it was always business with them.

The middle sized Mr Hyde appeared from beneath the large top hat. He asked "So what information do you seek?"

The smallest sized Mr Hyde added after popping up underneath a smaller top hat "We will give it for a price."

"Well… as you know, since Jason's fall, Sally and I are in need of an heir. Not only to take over after me but also to give some peace to the citizens of Halloweentown, hopefully that'll help the current social unrest." Jack scratched his skull as he embarrassingly admitted "Trouble is I don't know how skeletons breed and if we try to make a child through science they'll be sterile."

Kamen answered "Unfortunately we do not have that information. I thought someone at Dr Finklestein's lab would've known for sure."

The smallest Mr Hyde remarked "However, we do have details of a distant relative that may help."

Jack was perplexed "A relative, really? But most skeletons keep to themselves and stay in the crypts. I know them all but none of them are related to me."

"She doesn't live in Halloweentown. She lives in South America, her name is Catrina Mictecacihuatl, the Lady of the Dead. The leader of 'Dia de los Muertos' or the Day of the Dead, a holiday performed to honour those who have passed on." contributed the middle Mr Hyde

Mr Hyde finished "She is believed to be the mother of all skeletal creatures. I don't know her exact relation to you Jack simply because she's over three thousand years old. She was once a goddess worshipped by the natives of that entire region. But if anyone can help you, she can."

Jack couldn't believe what he had heard. He said "Where is she then? How do I find her?"

"We do not know, but perhaps you should ask a distant cousin or yours. The last of the Ravencroft brood, he still lives in Halloweentown. He knows how to find Catrina."

The Pumpkin King pondered this information carefully. His foot tapped on the stone floor in a rhythm as he mulled it over. He finally said "Alright, so what is the price for this information?"

Mr Hyde smirked slightly "None, just make sure you produce an heir to the throne."

The middle Mr Hyde chimed "Otherwise Halloweentown will fall into chaos."

The smallest Mr Hyde finished "The Pumpkin nobility must continue on Jack, remember that. It was the Skellington brood that brought peace and order to this chaotic town."

"Thankyou, all of you." Jack bowed. He showed himself out of the house and closed the door behind him. The skeleton hastily made his way towards Town Hall. He had to check the archives to find the only one who could help him.

Kamen slyly looked at his master "That was rather generous of you Mr Hyde, surely you're not getting soft in your old age."

The middle Mr Hyde jested "How can you speak of sense when you dress like a colour blind Christmas elf?"

The smallest Mr Hyde answered "Kamen, there are some details that should be known to individuals."

"Sometimes details that should be known by birthright are neglected to be learnt. These details shouldn't be kept from their true owners." Mr Hyde smiled at Kamen's puzzled gaze "One day, you'll understand what I mean."

* * *

A few younger witches glanced over their shoulders. They could see her twisted silhouette against a lighted alleyway. They recognised her instantly and they feared her. The teenaged witches ducked behind walls and boxes as the purple clad, trouser wearing traitor walked confidently past.

A shorter witch whispered to her friend "That's her right… the one Mistress Zelda and Helga warned us to stay away from?"

Her friend replied "Yeah, Shock, she used to be a Boogie's Boy back before we were born. Now she's an evil gambling junkie whore."

Another added "She totally could've been the greatest witch to live. Mistress Zelda and Helga said so, when she was a child she was so talented then she joined the Boogie's Boys gang and left the witch community forever."

"What a stupid bitch."

A younger witch tried to run. Even though Shock was oblivious to them, she was still afraid. Her feet were trapped to the ground. She couldn't move at all. "Hey, who cast a wayward charm? I can't move."

"Not me."

"Me neither."

"I can't weave charms that well so don't look at me."

"It was me." answered someone they couldn't recognise

The young witches, clad in dark robes and pointed hats, glanced over their shoulders. Behind them were a busty jester girl and an elegant corpse woman. The woman was much older than her jester companion with light blue skin and luminous eyes. Her hair was a deep midnight blue and wavered around her exquisite body. One of her arms and legs were skeletal. She was dressed in a silvery blue and black outfit. Her tattered skirt altered in different shades of grey and blue. Around her torso was a black and silver bodice decorated with spider designs. A silvery blue singlet was beneath the bodice and a pair of pointed white boots on her feet.

The corpse woman giggled "You do realise it's very rude to talk about others behind their backs."

The jester girl tangled threads of shadows between her fingers like a cat's cradle. It was obviously the source of the charm. She smirked "Hey Emily, we got time to play with them a little, don't we?"

"Better not push our luck Shadow. How bad would it be if someone saw you? Things are still pretty shaky, socially speaking. Just let them go."

"Alright then." Shadow clicked her fingers. The quartet of witches vanished as they sank into their own shadows.

Emily cocked an eyebrow in mild confusion "What did I just tell you?"

"You told me to let them go, so I did. I just warped them to the briars." Shadow noticed the disappointed scowl on Emily's face. The Joker rolled her eyes "Don't be like that, I didn't hurt them."

"Morning Shadow, Emily." Shock called out to them. She had heard the pair talking. "What are you two doing out so early other than tormenting the younger generations of town?"

Shadow answered "Just went for a morning walk to get chilled for the day ahead."

Emily politely said "And what are you doing out so early Shock?"

"You know, same old shit." Shock grinned mischievously.

"I hope you two are attending Harlequin's Hideout tonight. It's been a while since we've seen you two down there."

"Well, we've been busy." Shadow and Shock chuckled together.

Emily smiled "Just remember to bring a costume. It's the pirate party tonight."

Shadow cocked her eyebrow "Really? I thought that was next month…"

"That's when I last reminded you."

"Oh right, sorry."

"Well, I'll see you girls later and Shadow, you better bring Spectre. He needs a break once in a while!" Emily waved as she left the Joker and the witch behind. The corpse maiden headed off to work.

Shock reminded "Isn't Spectre still in pain from last night?"

Shadow smirked "I told Jewel about it, she'll fix him up in no time with one of her herbal remedies."

"Speaking of herbal remedies, when's Jewel making more of those awesome brownies?"

"What brownies?"

"Remember, those brownies I took from the pantry when I was over that one time. Took them home to Barrel and Lock and we thought they were awesome."

Shadow then froze up as she realised what could've been in those brownies. She said nervously "You do realise those brownies were for… sedating Igor's pet spider so we can harvest spider web and venom."

"Really? Igor has a spider?"

"Yep, he keeps it under the tower. Raised it from an egg, now it's massive."

"Fascinating."

Shadow and Shock just stared blankly at each other. They had both worked out what had happened regarding the brownies. As one, they both started cackling insanely. It was enough to make bystanders stare at them with confusion before walking off to attend to their morning duties.


	6. A newcomer to the Acid works

"Stupid god damn books! Why the hell can't Dad hire someone to keep this place in order!" Malice grumbled to herself as she balanced tediously on a rickety old ladder. She was metres off the ground in the large archive beneath Town Hall. This was the holding place of all material evidence for every action, citizen and event in Halloweentown. If you needed to know something about anything that had happened in the haunted town, this was the place to go.

However, only few could understand the filing system and by few that meant the Mayor and Mr Hyde (even though Mr Hyde wasn't actually supposed to know about this place). The only people in Halloweentown with official status to be here was the Mayor and the Pumpkin monarchy, anyone else would require supervision to ensure they didn't steal anything.

She felt her sinus clog as the dust rose from the yellowing documents. Only having a single triangular shaped nostril for a nose meant it was easy to agitate her senses. The ancient pages were being rustled from their slumber as she filed away a few housing papers and property blueprints for locations around Halloweentown that had been restored fully. Despite the years that had passed since Dr Finklestein's mad attack on the town everyone was still reconstructing and recovering from the damage.

Malice was in her early twenties and was a split puppet individual like her father, the Mayor. On the right side her skin was shaded a cold blue and she had an evil yellow eye on her face. Her shaggy black hair hung just above her right shoulder. On the left side her skin was a normal healthy tone, like the living and her eye was gentle and looked very human. Her wavy silvery grey locks reached just above her left shoulder. She was usually seen in her professional clothing, a dress suit with a bow tied loosely at the collar. Her entire outfit appeared split as well, just like her. It altered in fabrics of dark red and faded purple.

The dust was becoming too much. Malice tried to hold it in but couldn't. She sneezed loudly and with enough force to loose her footing on the ladder. She panicked as she felt herself overbalance. She fell backwards off the top of the ladder. Strangely her fall was broken. She looked up into the face of Halloweentown's ruler. The noble skeleton had caught her and stopped her painful descent.

"Jack Skellington! Thankyou for helping me." She quickly leapt from his arms and straightened herself up "What are you doing here, sir?"

"Not a problem Malice. Lucky I arrived when I did." He smiled back and answered "I was hoping to find some records of citizens… you do realise you filed those construction blueprints in the restraint and liquor licenses."

"Don't tell me that! Ah hell, I'll fix it later." Malice sneezed again. She wiped her nose with a handkerchief from her pocket "Well, I still don't understand the filing of this place. But I'll see if I can help you."

"I need to find my family tree and records of any family members still living in Halloweentown."

"I didn't know you had any relatives."

"I do, it's just skeletons prefer to be private creatures than publicly open." Jack then noticed something peculiar "Wait, why are you in here alone?"

"Dad's punishment. He knows I hate this stuff."

"Joyriding in the hearse again?"

"Yeah."

"Malice, I never would've picked you as a troublemaker."

"Well… Lock challenged me to a drag race."

"I didn't know Lock had a hearse of his own."

"Uh… I don't know where he got it from. You know he's a troublemaker." Malice narrowly dodged revealing Behemoth's moonshine distribution method. Despite the Crime lords' loyalty to Jack and Sally, there were still a few details that remained secret.

They both walked the lanes of towering filing cabinets and dusty walls of books. To Malice's surprise, Jack seemed to know where he was going. _'Maybe he can explain how this filing system works, my Dad doesn't really seem to have any idea.'_ She mused to herself silently.

"Ah, family details and records." Jack announced happily as he stopped before a series of bookshelves. The area was cluttered with so many books, parchments and scrolls, it looked more like a solid wall than a storage unit. It was beyond Malice how Jack could tell the difference. All the shelves blurred into the same monotonous haze for her.

"Hey Jack…"

"Yes?" said the skeleton as he browsed the titles of the books.

"Do you think you could teach me how to understand this crazy place?"

"I'm sure I can teach you after Halloween is through for this year."

"Thanks Jack." She gazed at the rows of books "What are you looking for anyway?"

"I need to find the details of my family tree, in particular the Ravencroft brood."

Malice then suddenly remembered "Ravencroft? A guy under that name just registered permission to acquire a new crystal ball for his master recently."

"What?" Jack turned to her. He blurted "Are you serious? Wait, why would he need a crystal ball? What do you mean he has a master?"

"He works for Lady Halliwell."

"That witch that was disowned by the other witches in Halloweentown for eloping with a human?"

"Yeah, mostly keeps to herself these days. Still on probation so she has to apply whenever she needs new equipment for magic."

"How long has this been happening?"

"Well, I know Dad's been handling her paperwork since it happened ages ago."

Jack thought bluntly_ 'Why didn't that idiot tell me?'_

"But you know what my Dad's like." Malice sighed, she knew she obviously got her brains from her mother. She suggested "Why not visit the Halliwell Manor? It's just on the edge of town land, past the briars."

"There is a manor out there?" Jack was stumped. He thought he knew everything about the land he ruled.

Malice remarked "Yes, you can see it from Behemoth's fields if you stand on the roof of his house. Don't know how to get there though. The briars are a total maze. Even werewolves get lost in them and they have an excellent sense of direction."

Jack smiled as he recalled "But… Lock, Shock and Barrel know that place well."

"Really? How?"

"They hid out there many times as children. I even had to fight Barrel there when Oogie took over this town."

Malice shivered at the memory of Oogie's reign over Halloweentown. It was a traumatic experience for her, she was separated from her father in the early days and forced to go into hiding in the crypts. The darkness of those tombs was enough to haunt even the most fearless ghoul. It was ancient dwelling place of evil, the rumoured birthplace of Halloween. She remembered being found trapped in a coffin by Harlequin and his daughter, Hayley. Until Jack restored order to Halloweentown, Harlequin had hid many citizens of Halloweentown in his hideout like a refuge. They were days that would rather remain an unpleasant nightmare than a memory of the past.

"Well, I'll just be heading off. Bye Malice."

She was snapped back to reality as Jack left her to her work. Malice felt that she was still shivering with fear from the thoughts. How could Jack be so carefree having lived through the traumatic events that had transpired in his town?

* * *

The Acid Works was an unusual part of Halloweentown. An entire district dedicated to the fearful art of mad science. Yet there number of occupants could always be counted on one hand. The spacious area was used to store livestock and equipment for experiments. It had received its name due to the fact that the years of experiments had turned the water source in that part of town into a river of acid. Standing amongst the electric fences, scrap yards and twisted bridges was a tall tower. Very few citizens ever visited this place of their own accord.

A boy walked down the metal scaffolding over the acid river. He was tall and dressed in a black and gold suit. His face was covered by a silver and ivory skeleton mask. His head and neck were covered by the dark hood of his undershirt. Even his hands were hidden by sturdy gloves. He came to the main door of the tower. Hesitating momentarily, he knocked on the door.

"The door is open!" called a voice.

He opened it to enter the main hall of the tower. A spiralling ramp led upwards to the higher chambers and the laboratory. He said out loud "Hello? Anyone here?"

"Who is it? What do you want?" Igor wandered down the spiral ramp. The hunchback was mutated beyond belief from years of experimentation by Dr Finklestein. He was dressed in a clean lab uniform to make him look somewhat presentable.

"Uh… I was wondering if I may speak with the mad scientist of Halloweentown? I know it's not Dr Finklestein anymore so I don't know their name."

"Which one?"

The boy titled his head "Huh? There's more than one!"

"Now there is, even Igor now one. But I prefer being the Head Lab Technician. More fancy."

"Well, can I talk to them all then?"

"Come up to the main lab. You can meet them."

The boy nervously followed Igor up the ramp to an elevator. Once boarded Igor threw a switch wildly and the platform shot up into the highest and largest chamber of the tower.

He was amazed. He always found himself impressed with his small lab at home but it didn't compare to this one. It was massive, able to accommodate numerous experiments at once. A wide window was open to a balcony to provide fresh air and a calm place to wait for experimental procedures to finish up. Igor shuffled through the lab, he had seen it many times before and was accustomed to it.

He asked "You coming?"

The boy quickly followed him through the mess. He came out to the balcony where two others were. One was a red headed Joker girl. The other shared a likeness to Dr Finklestein but was tall, female and capable of walking. Her blonde hair was tied back beneath a bandana so she could work. Both were wearing laboratory uniforms.

Igor crudely said "Shadow, Jewel, this guy came to talk to us."

The boy replied "Uh… hi?"

The blonde woman smiled "Hello there, I'm Jewel, the botanist of this establishment."

"And I'm Shadow, the biologist here." answered the red head "I'm afraid our forth colleague cannot see you as he is an idiot and currently lying in bed sick because he can't be bothered asking people what is in an unlabelled container in the kitchen."

Jewel sighed "Don't be like that Shadow, I'm sure you can get more spinal chords."

"Not for a few months, I swear Spectre is a complete moron some times."

"Yes well, Spectre is our engineer here and works on the robotics." Jewel asked the boy "And who are you?"

He replied nervously "My name is Jonathan. I'm an amateur mad scientist at the moment and wanted to learn from a master."

"So you want an apprenticeship? We don't do those anymore unfortunately. It made the situation quite messy last time. So, Jack decided to discontinue it. Sorry Jonathan."

"Oh… um… crap…"

"However, we could always use extra help around here. Can't we?" Jewel looked to Shadow and Igor. They both nodded.

Shadow caught on as she added "Besides, due to my cultural obligations, I can't be of assistance to the mad scientist schemes at Halloween. So we could use another helper."

Jonathan was amazed. He excitedly replied "What? Really? Are you guys sure?"

"Just take it kid." Igor chuckled "We're making it so you're an apprentice without calling you one."

Jewel nodded "Yeah, mad science needs to be more welcoming these days."

Jonathan cheered "Thankyou. When do I start?"

"Right now." Igor laughed as he shoved a lab uniform into Jonathan's hands.

"The incubator should be almost done. You're going to help distil and mix the necessary chemicals to the samples of the pancreas and intestines I dissected from the fish in the acid works this morning." Shadow informed. She put an arm around Jonathan's shoulder "Then while it's incubating again for three hours, we're gonna go feed the animals on the property!"

Jonathan felt a shudder of nervousness. Obviously the 'animals', Shadow was referring to were the monstrosities he saw prowling the Acid Works in their enclosures on his way here. But it didn't matter, he had been accepted (sort of) as an apprentice to the mad scientists of Halloweentown.


	7. Entering the Hideout!

The unrecognisable creature eyed its owners wearily from the safety of their walkways around its electrified pit. Once it may have been an alligator or a grizzly bear or a mountain goat or a komodo dragon or a scorpion or a vulture, but now it was mutilated beyond recognition as anything officially identified as an animal. The few extra heads also made it difficult to give it to decide what animal it actually wanted to be. It spent its days pottering within its deep pit within the acid works. The walls of the pit were lined with electrified panels to avoid escaping. It wanted to be free. It wanted to run and frolic through the Hinterlands like a proud and noble beast.

The sight of the buckets of raw meat immediately doused such rebellious thoughts. It sat obediently like a puppy waiting for a treat. Shadow smiled and nodded to it in approval. She started pouring the contents of the buckets into the pit. Jonathan stood beside her and followed her lead. He stared at the monster in confusion. Over the past few hours he had been feeding the animals with Shadow. Every creature held within the Acid Works was a perplexing mingle of various animals, organic parts and mechanical modifications. It was difficult to actually identify what the creature originally was.

Jonathan asked to make conversation "So uh... what is this one called?"

"Chimera, because we were trying to replicate one with this project. But neither Igor or I could agree what animals belonged on it. I wanted to go classic with a mixture of lion, goat and snake but Igor couldn't find the animals we needed" Shadow laughed "Ah well, you get that some times."

"You know, for scientists you guys are pretty easy going about everything."

"Well what were you expecting Jonny boy?"

"Not this to be honest."

Shadow casually picked up half of the buckets and started heading back to the main tower. She strolled down the twisted garden path and called "Well obviously, say what are you doing tonight?"

Jonathan collected a few of the empty buckets. He jogged to catch up with her. "Nothing, why?"

"How bout you come down to Harlequin's Hideout? Big gathering happening tonight so maybe you can meet some people."

"Uh... yeah, alright."

"It's a costume party too, come dressed as a pirate."

"What? Why?"

Before Jonathan could form a coherent thought Shadow had already called back to him "That's all for today, meet at the fountain around midnight dressed in your costume. See ya then!"

"Um... see you..." He waved in a slightly confused manner.

* * *

The moon hung above the cobbled and crooked streets of Halloweentown. The main square was still busy at midnight as monsters headed through to get to other sections of the town. Jonathan sat on the wall of the fountain feeling a bit anxious. He had come dressed as a pirate at Shadow's request, in fact he looked like a noble captain who had met his end. He felt relieved that his family never threw away their heirlooms and even more grateful he fit into them. The green water continued to bubble and leak out of the stone serpent perched on the wall. Jonathan sighed to himself. He couldn't remember the last time he had been invited to anything social in Halloweentown. Deep down he knew he was different to every other citizen, he knew it from birth. It wasn't easy being cursed with an appearance like his in a town of monsters.

He heard the chatter of a group as they wandered into the square. He recognised the devil amongst them. Jonathan knew it was the guy he had bumped in to a few nights ago in the briars. It was the night he had foolishly forgotten his mask so he had seen his human shell. Also with him was a green skinned girl with wiry black hair, obviously a witch. Another was a tall, stocky corpse boy. His eyes were stitched shut yet he moved around like he could see perfectly. Finally there was a dark blue skinned bat boy. He was a midget that only came up to an average person's waist. He had blood red eyes with slit like pupils and scruffy dark grey hair. His wings were long for someone of his size, they were practically the height of him. A long pointed tail and claws for hands and feet. All of them were dressed in pirate costumes (or at least attempted to).

Jonathan stayed back and looked around the fountain nervously. Noticing the clock he thought _'Where is Shadow? She should be here by now.'_

"You're Jonathan, right?"

He almost fell into the fountain with surprise. Someone actually knew his name and was talking to him. He turned, wide eyed beneath his mask to see the witch in front of him. She smirked "Shadow told me to be expecting a masked man in the square," she thrust her hand forward "I'm Shock."

He shook her hand politely and bowed "Jonathan."

The bat boy teased "Wow! You're pretty old school to be bowing like that."

The corpse boy nudged the devil and would be winking if his eyes weren't sewn shut "Careful Lock, that poltergeist is making a move on your girl."

Lock protested loudly "Who said she MY girl? I belong to no one!"

'_A poltergeist? Yeah, I'll go with that. Hm... I guess that devil doesn't remember me after all.'_ Jonathan knew the mask and extensive coverings were also a habit of the poltergeist species, a variation of ghost that were meant to be heard and not seen so they took to wearing clothes to make themselves visible.

Shock quickly said "Yeah, just to fill you in, the bat is Fang, the corpse is Ethan and the devil is Lock."

Jonathan nodded "I see, any idea where Shadow is?"

The witch giggled "Probably yelling at Spectre by now to hurry up. They'll probably burst into the square in a few seconds."

"SORRY WE'RE LATE!" Shadow exclaimed just as she entered the town square. A corpse boy with a robotic arm and partly decomposing eye trailed behind her. He looked a little worse for wear, even by undead standards. "Spectre wouldn't stop being a little pussy."

"Shadow, you know I'm not feeling well."

"Only because you're an idiot."

Fang intervened and perched on Shadow's shoulder like a parrot "So I take it that he ate your stash of human meat again?"

Shadow turned to the bat and mockingly remarked "Yeah, I can't believe he does this. That's the third time this year."

Ethan patted him on the back condescendingly "Spectre you really are an idiot some times. I really can't believe we're related."

Spectre growled, clearly annoyed with being the target of the teasing "Alright, so what! Let's get down to the hideout for the party already!"

'_Wait, didn't Shadow say that guy was a mad scientist? Well... he certainly does seem mad...'_ Jonathan thought to himself. He went with the group to the cemetery, past the rows of graves to the crypt. They walked like they had trekked this path countless times. Jonathan hoped they knew where they were going, because he sure as hell didn't.

* * *

The Harlequin Hideout, an urban legend in Halloweentown where citizens came to play and indulge in the pleasures of the human world. The scene was chaotic with euphoria as Jonathan attempted to gather his bearings. From what he could tell he was in a massive cavern beneath Halloweentown. The walls were covered with plenty of vents and air ducts so they wouldn't suffocate. Smeared across every surface were little harlequin demon symbols in neon paint. Bright signs of strange symbols representing bands and posters of various musicians were hanging on the walls like works of art. Across the back wall a large sign declared 'Harlequin's Hideout' in graffiti style writing that could be seen from any part of the club.

There were four doorways to the surface from the looks of things. Two smaller ones located near the bar and in the kitchen which was for the staff. Two main doorways were in the dining area for the customers and patrons. The bar, registers and kitchen took up most of the right side of the entrance area. The other part was taken up by tables and chairs for dining.

Going down a few stairs and one would reach the dance floor. Complete with a stage for the DJ and the massive hi tech sound system. Around the floor were platforms raised at different heights for dancers to enjoy and use. Hanging in the heights of the cavern were lighting tools, spotlights, mirror balls and smoke machines. The floor was covered with monsters all dressed as pirates. The cavern pulsed with music, lights and smoke. A mummy boy was perched behind the controls of the DJ set up. Dancing as he programmed the intricate machinery and riling the crowds up.

The music tonight was bizarre but fitting. A chaotic melody of metal and pirate jigs. A gruff voice rasped to the tune _"We returned to port with sorrow in our chests, an evil shadow followed us on every quest. Never to feel joy again was our fate. Only misery and death, fear and burning hate"_

Already Shock and Ethan had wandered off to the dance floor to join in the dancing with a puppet girl and a ghastly mermaid. Judging by the friendly welcoming exchanged through hugs on the floor it was obvious the two girls were friends. However Jonathan also realised that the mermaid was involved with Ethan as she happily swallowed his tongue while he leant in for a passionate kiss. He then noticed something that sparked his curiosity, Jonathan leant over to Shadow and asked "Those doors over by the dance floor... what are they for?"

"Oh those, they're root rooms. They allow people to share physically intimate moments here."

"I see... and it's completely private?"

"You thinking of scoring tonight Jonny boy." Lock teased "I don't blame you, plenty of cute girls to pick from. I wouldn't mind getting lucky myself."

"Yeah, there are lots of cute girls."

Lock proudly declared "Well come on, let's go find you one! But first, we must plan our attack! Strategy is everything when it comes to hooking up."

Shadow thought while heading to the bar _'Odd... Jonathan sounds like he doesn't believe what he's saying. Ah, nothing to do with me.'_

Jonathan was taken by Lock, Spectre and Fang over to the tables. They were probably going to survey the menu before coming to the bar and placing their extensive drink orders.

"_We broke the law, betrayed the code, now time is running out. An unforgivable offence of that there is no doubt. Now as we stand before the gallows waiting for the end, I'll say these final words my friend"_

Shadow arrived at the bar to be greeted by a familiar demonette. She smirked to her friend and said "Long time no see Hayley."

"That's because you don't come to visit me anymore." Hayley jested as she flicked her head tails. They went back a long way. Hayley had been one of the first friends Shadow had made in Halloweentown and worked alongside her before becoming a proper mad scientist.

"Oh come now, you know we've both been busy."

"True that," Hayley smiled while mixing up Shadow's standard cocktails "Barrel and I will be out in the crowd once my Dad comes back and Bonejangles has had his fun with Emily." She added a few more spirits to the shaker "So who's the masked guy? A poltergeist?"

The Joker replied "I think so, he's always wearing that mask. He's actually helping around the Acid Works, his name is Jonathan and he seems pretty sane."

Shadow glanced to the dance floor. The beautiful corpse maiden was amidst the crowd dancing with a naked skeleton possessing a single eye and only wearing a captain's hat tonight. She felt relieved that Emily had finally found a stable man to be with.

"No rush, the night is young." Shadow received her cocktail "Thankyou. So how are things?"

Hayley said casually "Busy as usual and learning to remember everything is tricky."

"Believe me, I know."

Shadow and Hayley both knew the stress they were under. After all both of them were apprentices to Halloweentown crime lords. They both had big expectations on them and no room for failure,

_"At sunrise we'll all dance the hempen jig. So raise up your pint of rum and take another swig! The curse of Captain Morgan has led us to this fate! So have no fear, and don't look back, the afterlife awaits!"_

* * *

_Lyrics from "Captain Morgan's Revenge" by Alestorm_


	8. Breaking up

Lock weaved and danced through the dance floor happily groping every single girl along the way. Some responded positively and indulged in his flirts while others either slapped him or death glared him. Either way, he had managed to 'charm' enough girls to surround himself in ghoulish beauties. It didn't matter to him. He loved the female form and he knew he was handsome enough to attract them. He stared over at Barrel and Hayley, Ethan and Aqua on the dance floor while Malice and Kamen were fooling around behind the DJ station. Three couples in his group of friends that he knew were legitimate. He could never understand why they would confine themselves to such a life.

"_When I come back from a mighty quest I have no need for sleep or rest. I head to a tavern for a drink and get so drunk I cannot think"_

Shock froze and felt a sickness shudder through her. She saw Lock with the random sluts he had attracted yet again. She didn't understand it, their relationship was stable and quite beneficial for both of them a few years ago. But she knew by now she had lost him. She wanted to still say she had a boyfriend yet it wasn't a true fact. When he finally sobered up she'd dump him. If he's drunk then he's numb to the magnitude of the confession.

She enviously stared at her half brother and his girlfriend before leaving the dance floor to head up to the bar. Taking a place at the end of it she noticed Shadow, Spectre and Fang at a nearby booth laughing and talking. Both were waving their arms as they enthusiastically told stories to each other. Judging by the bottles on their table they were wasted by now.

"Hey little sista, looks like you need one of these."

__Shock looked up to find herself fact to face with a lanky skeleton with one eye and a bowler hat. Bonejangles smirked as he pushed a tall glass of violet liquid in front of her "Sorry, I mean Shock."

"Thanks Bonejangles. What is this?"

"A haunted island ice tea, a Halloweentown take on the long island ice tea from the human world."

Shock raised the glass and tasted it. Her eyes widened as she coughed slightly "Holy crap what the hell is in this!"

"Every white and dark spirit on the shelf with a hint of hydrofluoric acid, belladonna and ectoplasm."

"Nice, I think I'll have another one." Shock giggled as she drained the glass.

Bonejangles remarked as he mixed another cocktail "Why do you do it Shock? You know you can do better than that man whore Lock."

"I know... but, a part of me will always love him."

"Emily used to be like that in her youth, she even kept loving the bastard who murdered her. All of us at Eye and Socket kept trying to cheer her up but she wouldn't, she kept proclaiming she needed a man. But a part of her grew up when she tried to steal another bride's groom and realised that the same man was about to destroy someone else's life." Bonejangles grinned "Who'd thought that she'd be capable of moving to Halloweentown and supporting herself for years?"

Shock glared at him "What are you trying to get at?"

"I think maybe you should take a break from this relationship stuff because Lock isn't treating you right. Find comfort in your own skin rather than in a couple then decide if you want a lover or not."

Shock stared at her glass as Bonejangles refilled it. For a deranged nudist skeleton he did some times speak words of wisdom.

"_A wench by my side and a jug of mead, these are the things that I most need so I sit back and sing this song and drink and party all night long"_

Jonathan quietly left the Root Room. Luckily everyone was either distracted or too intoxicated to notice him. He glanced back at the lithe male demon as he confidently strode out of the room. The demon winked seductively at him before wandering off into the night. Jonathan smiled to himself as he sauntered over to the booth where Shadow, Spectre and Fang were drinking.

"Hey! It's that guy!" slurred Fang

"Hey guy!" Spectre giggled with a dopey grin on his face as he leant over the table.

He laughed "Jonathan, remember?"

"Oh yeah, now I do."

Fang asked whilst perched on Jonathan's shoulder "Where you been? Lock's already stolen all the single girls that are kinda human shaped like you!"

Jonathan said in a disappointed tone "Ah... damn, I'm gonna have to tie Lock up before coming here. Oh well, there's always next time."  
"Wait a minute, let's window shop now then. Scope out what you're looking for." Fang gestured one of his wings in the direction of the bar. "Let's see who or what is your type."

Jonathan's eyes followed the direction pointed. At the bar were numerous girls around his age, all of them were beautiful as a group but as he noticed them more he realised something unattractive about each of them. He then noticed someone at the bar.

Fang asked "So who do you pick?"

Jonathan kept playing along "They have short spiky hair, broad-ish shoulders, really nice legs and arse too."

"You mean that punk zombie chick! Yeah, she's a cutie. Nice choice."

'_Strange, there's also a male demon over there that fits the same description.'_ Shadow thought as she noticed the patrons of the bar. _'Ah, don't read into it. It's his business, not mine.'_

"I'm gonna do it!" Shock declared loudly. She practically fell into the laps of Shadow and Spectre from a loss of balance.

"Alright, get up now." Spectre said as he helped straighten Shock into an upright position and put her in the seat next to Shadow.

Shadow asked "What are you doing now?"

Shock growled "I'm dumping Lock!"

"Well, it's about time." Fang remarked "He's a horny fuck who can't keep it to himself!"

The rest of his friends looked at him bewildered. Fang never really spoke so bluntly about others but when he did, you knew it was true. The bat replied confidently "Come on, don't tell me I'm the only one who notices it?"

His friends nodded to him in silent agreement. They all knew Lock's true nature. It just seemed a little over the top to announce his faults out loud.

_"Hey! Hey! I want more wenches. Hey! Hey! More wenches and mead. Hey! Hey! I want more wenches, lots of wenches is what I need"  
_

The night wore on and eventually the hideout had to close up. The pirate party had concluded as all the attendees filed out into the catacombs to return to the surface. Jonathan waved to his new friends as they reached the Town Square to go their separate ways. He headed off in the direction of the briars feeling confident and satisfied with himself. A feeling he had not come across often due to the horrific deformity concealed behind his mask.

* * *

Lock had taken home a goddess like siren. Her hair was long and her whole form seemed to float elegantly in the air. Her body curved in all the right places and her eyes were pitch black with red pupils. He had never scored with a siren before. They were known as beautiful half-life beings that floated everywhere and hypnotised their prey with their singing. However, their claw like hands and rows of sharp teeth suggested that they were as deadly as they were beautiful.

He had the house to himself as Hayley and Barrel were still at the hideout cleaning up and Shock had been lost at the party. Acting like a gentleman, Lock removed the celestial coat draped around the siren's shoulders. He pulled her close and kissed her neck gently.

"Oh my... it really has been too long since your girlfriend dumped you." The siren muttered, even her casual voice was pure music.

He sighed in a distant and depressing manner "It was a rough break up, she was sleeping around and cheating on me."

"But I'm here now." She held him close and kissed his lips, gently teasing him with her tongue.

'_Score!'_ thought Lock. He learnt from the human world that most girls love a brooding, mysterious and broken man. He slyly remarked "Shall we progress to a bed? I'm feeling a little dizzy."

They headed to the closest bedroom. A door with a green witch mask nailed to it closed behind them.

By the time Shock had stumbled back to the tree house, she could see the lights were on. Lock had to be home. She psyched herself up. Nothing was going to stop her from giving him a piece of her mind. She ran up the tree trunk ramp and jumped to a window on the lower floor of the tree house. She could've unwound the trap door to get in but that would be too obvious. She wanted to catch him with his pants down.

Stealthily she slinked through the window and into the main room of the house. Two sets of clothes were strewn across the floor. One set she recognised as Lock's, the other was a girl's and not her own clothing. Shock's eyes widened with horror as she saw where the clothes led. She wasted no time in smashing the door to her bedroom open.

Lock froze in sheer terror as the door of the room smashed open. The romantic atmosphere was ruined and he wasn't even done with the foreplay. If only this had happened a few hours later. He then realised something wrong with the room. Judging by the furniture, he had taken the siren into Shock's room. He turned his head slowly to see Shock standing at the doorway. Her stance and glare was so powerful it could've made his head explode from her indignant fury alone (she also probably could make his head explode with her magic).

He kept glancing between the witch and the siren "Uh... Shock... um... I can explain this."

"No, allow me. This poor girl needs to know the truth." Shock sat down next to them, she didn't care that their bodies were still entwined. "You see darling, Lock here is a perverted creep who can't keep his dick to himself. I am supposed to be his girlfriend but he is not acting like a boyfriend. Therefore I'm dumping him and you're just the next one night stand for him gloat about. Are we all on the same page now?"

The siren turned slowly, the same glare of fury in her eyes. She snarled "You bastard! Don't you ever come near me again!" She lashed out and tore open Lock's cheek with her claw as she rose from the bed naked. She looked over at Shock "I'm so sorry, I didn't know."

Shock replied calmly "Relax, you're not the first. He's very good at tricking people."

The siren quickly left, picking up her scattered clothes along the way. Lock was still grabbing his cheek trying to stop the bleeding. He sobbed as he looked in the mirror "This better not leave a scar, what kind of psycho bitch claws people?"

Shock replied coldly "You deserved it."

"And what the hell is wrong with you now!"

"I've just had enough of you, Lock, we're through. I want nothing to do with you and I want you and every trace of you to leave this house. You are not welcome here!"

Lock folded his arms "Who made you the boss!"

Shock snarled "Boogie did when she made me her apprentice. Now get out of here!"

Lock knew there was no point in arguing. He knew Shock could kill him easily with her magic. He was actually thankful she was being merciful. Within the hour Lock had collected his few belongings. With a heavy pack over his back, he left the tree house and Shock behind.

* * *

_Lyrics from "Wenches and Mead" by Alestorm_


	9. Fallout

Shock didn't realise how much time had passed since the break up. She had been lying on the coffin couch in the main room in a purple singlet and her black pants. The door finally opened as Hayley and Barrel stumbled in. Usually they finished cleaning up the hideout by six in the morning so it surprised Shock that she was able to do absolutely nothing for a few hours.

Hayley smiled "Morning Shock... wait, what's wrong?"

Barrel instantly knew "Where's Lock?"

"I dumped him and kicked him out." Shock replied coldly

"Barrel, get the vodka and the shot glasses and turn on some music please." Hayley requested as she sat next to Shock. Barrel nodded and went to the kitchen area to retrieve the desired items.

Hayley asked "How you feeling?"

"Glad that he's out of here and not being a dick anymore." Shock paused and contemplated the other emotion in her "At the same time, Lock's been with Barrel and I since well... for as long as I can remember. We've been through the good and the bad with him, so it feels weird to not have him here."

Hayley smiled gently "Well, maybe one day you can be friends again with him. But on the relationship side of things, you made the right decision. Lock's a lousy boyfriend."

"I know, I just don't know what I did wrong. Why did he keep going out with other girls?"

"You didn't do anything wrong. Some people just can't live in a single relationship, everyone feels comfortable in certain areas and Lock's just the type of person who can't be with one person."

"_All aboard! Hahaha"_

Hayley and Shock both looked at each other as the music blared. They were then reminded about their lack of alcohol and wondered where Barrel had gotten to.

_ "Crazy, but that's how it goes, millions of people living as foes. Maybe, it's not too late to learn how to love, and forget how to hate."_

Barrel emerged from the kitchen triumphant with a bottle of vodka and three shot glasses in his hands. He grinned and sang along to chorus.

_ "Mental wounds not healing. Life's a bitter shame. I'm goin' off the rails on a crazy train. I'm goin' off the rails on a crazy train!"_

"What!" He asked while Shock and Hayley continued to stare at him "Ozzy is awesome!"

"Well, it'll do." Hayley laughed as she poured the shots.

Barrel cheered "To new starts!"

They all downed the shots. Immediately Barrel said "Another?"

Within the hour the full bottle had been drained.

* * *

Jack wandered through the briars in search of Halliwell Manor. He may not have known them as well as Lock, Shock or Barrel but he had this ability to find where he needed to go. After all, this talent directed him to Christmastown which reinvigorated his self worth. He then paused as he noticed a red devil walking past.

He waved and approached calmly "Ah, Lock! Ghastly morning... why do you have that bag over your back?"

Lock muttered quietly "Shock broke up with me and kicked me out."

"Ah... I'm sorry to hear that." Deep down Jack knew about Lock's behaviour so he wasn't surprised by this news. He said calmly "Where do you intend to go now?"

"Behemoth has agreed to let me stay with him here... but at the moment I need time to just think. What are you doing out here?"

"Looking for Halliwell Manor, it's supposed to be around here somewhere."

"Halliwell Manor? Never heard of it..." Lock then remembered "Oh, that weird locked down mansion! Shock, Barrel and I have tried breaki- I mean, getting in there before to see if anyone was in there but it was closed and when we tried to enter some weird magic warped us back home. Maybe stay away from there, it's odd and no one can get in."

Jack smiled "Can you show it to me?"

"Yeah, just through here." Lock walked in a random direction and Jack followed. The trip wasn't long as Jack almost knocked in to Lock. It was actually just outside the briars where Jack had originally wandered.

Lock walked off "I'm out of here, later."

"Thankyou Lock." Jack paused and took in the sight. The ancient gothic manor looked as if it had probably been here for at least a century. But such a magnificent building was hidden from view by surrounding hills and trees. Jack pondered if its hidden nature was a result of Lady Halliwell's magic. He walked up the stairs and knocked on the front door.

A tall skeleton opened the door. He was slightly shorter than Jack and his skull was more angular in shape. Judging by his suit he was obviously a butler of some form. He said "Ghastly morning, I'm afraid if you seek an audience with my master she cannot attend as she is away at Sleepy Hollow."

"Actually I came looking for a butler with the family name of Ravencroft."

"That's me, I'm Jeremy Ravencroft..." the butler studied Jack and said "You must be the Pumpkin King, Jack Skellington. I keep hearing so much about you but never get a chance to see you. Please, come in."

The halls of the Halliwell home were more impressive and extravagant than the outside. It was riddled with books, talismans and artefacts for almost any kind of magic possible in witchcraft. The lower floor housed the entertaining areas for guests while the upper floor obviously held the private rooms of the family. Hanging in the entrance hall was a family portrait. It showed the parents, a human man and a witch with three children, two boys and a girl all dressed in fine gothic clothing.

Jeremy offered "Please take a seat in the study where it is comfortable."

It was wide and welcoming with a few comfortable chairs and couches. The walls were lined with books. The windows were wide and covered by dark red curtains. During the day this room must be fully illuminated to minimise eye strain while reading.

"So what do you want to know?"

Jack smiled at Jeremy "I was wondering how to get in touch with our grandmother... I guess, Catrina Mictecacihuatl? I need to talk to her."

"Well that's simple enough, this time of year she's usually in her sanctuary beneath the ruins of Tenochtitlan in Mexico City. However, she's usually moving around a lot and all through the world for the variations of the Day of the Dead."

Jack cocked his head "It's that wide spread?"

"Every human society has some kind of way they respect the dead, she's got a pretty big job. Is that all you needed to know?"

"For now, hopefully once this trip is over we can catch up more." Jack raised from his seat and was led out by Jeremy.

* * *

Barrel leant out the window to get some fresh air while Shock and Hayley kept talking about whatever random thought popped into their head. He always enjoyed the view of Halloweentown and the graveyard from their home. The soft glow of the sunrise cast streaks of shadow upon the ground. The morning fog blurred the solid nature of the tombstones in a surreal manner. He then noticed someone approaching the tree house.

Shadow marched along the path with Spectre on her back. She was getting tired of his sickness and needed expertise from someone who knew about curses and spells in greater detail. Spectre was practically dead weight as he muttered under his breath in a delirious way. Finally she had enough of this, Shadow dropped Spectre and cracked her back. She had been carrying him from the Acid Works. She sighed to him "You've definitely put on weight, haven't you?"

Spectre was still delirious so she didn't receive a proper response.

"Well, come on now." She grabbed his legs and kept walking towards the tree house, dragging him behind her.

Barrel threw open the door and said "You're not very good at sneaking up, are you?"

"Who said I was trying to sneak up?" Shadow replied, she dragged Spectre into the main room and dropped his legs. She took a seat on a nearby chair and said "You dumped Lock?"

Shock smirked "Yep, gotten over it too."

"You work fast."

Barrel started poking the undead lying on the floor "So, what's with Spectre?"

Shadow folded her arms "Well, he's just in constant pain and there's no physical reason as to why. So, maybe there's a magic reason?"

"What do you mean there's nothing physically wrong with him?" Shock queried "Isn't he still sick from eating those spinal chords?"

Hayley exclaimed "He ate spinal chords!"

"About nine of them in one sitting."

"Geez, what an idiot!"

"Yeah, but I've run a few blood tests, urine sample, faecal sample, pumped his stomach three times and even cut him open to check his organs." Shadow noticed the weird stares from her friends "Igor insisted on the faecal and urine samples and I didn't touch them! Anyway, everything checks out, there's no reason why he should still be in pain."

Barrel asked "So you think it's a spell of some kind?"

"Yes, so Shock, you're the best I know in this kind of thing so help me out."

"Well... given the symptoms, it sounds like a case of a vengeful spirit curse." Shock elaborated "Basically when an animal is killed if its hatred of the hunter is strong enough the spirit will curse anyone who eats their flesh. Usually it's reversed when the person who ate the flesh admits to their sin otherwise the spirit will claim that person's life."

Barrel sighed "Would that work if the person's undead?"

Hayley cocked an eyebrow "That sounds kind of crazy. Can spirits really do that?"

Shock informed "Yeah, well, the ones in the east. Mainly Japan, that whole country is right in the middle of the spirit realm's highways so the supernatural tends to happen a lot there."

Shadow said "Alright, so if Spectre says he's sorry to the human spirits then he can get better."

"Yes, maybe."

"Maybe will have to do, I'm going to see Gil about some wallets and ID cards."

"I'll come too." Barrel said as he followed Shadow out.

"How could a human spirit curse him? That makes no sense... Humans are lousy at magic." Shock pondered out loud.

* * *

They walked through the cemetery together in silence. Strangely there were no ghosts or ghouls taking a morning stroll. It was eerie, there was always someone hanging around in the graveyard. It was one of the liveliest spots in town. Shadow noticed something was wrong with him so she said "You miss Lock?"

"Kinda... we've always hung out together, three of a kind, birds of a feather... now and forever..." Barrel looked at his feet nervously.

Shadow reminded "You do realise this is between Lock and Shock so you don't have to be involved."

"How can I not be? He's my best friend and she's my older sister..."

"Just try to stay out of it, I don't think this is a fight you should be a part of."

Barrel froze up as he looked ahead. Shadow stopped and followed his stare. They were both perplexed and afraid. They quickly ducked behind two headstones.

A ghostly vision of a woman floated past. Her hair was down to her knees and a wavering curtain of silver. Her robes were pales and tattered, reminiscent of some arch magic user or some being of high authority and power. The long sleeves and skirt of dresses covered her hands and feet. Her face was beautiful but vacant, her eyes were empty pools of whiteness. Her skin was grey and almost translucent. Her mouth was stitched shut and her robes adorned with the crest of a demonic moon devouring the sun. The woman vanished into thin air without noticed Shadow or Barrel.

Barrel whispered "Why do her clothes have the same crest as yours? What was she?"

Shadow muttered "That was a banshee..."

"So she was a Joker at some point. Did you know her? Why was her mouth stitched shut?"

Shadow noticed the direction the banshee had come from. She felt a sick fear in her stomach of what had happened. She said "Come on, let's get in to town. I'll explain everything if my suspicions are confirmed."

* * *

_Lyrics from "Crazy Train" by Ozzy Osbourne_


	10. Lady Luna's grand appearance

Barrel followed Shadow as she paced ahead of him. She seemed to be looking for something in a panicked manner. Almost like she was trying to play down how terrifying this situation actually was. The town square seemed deserted which was unusual for this time of morning. They progressed through the cobbled and dreary streets to Hemlock Homestead. Surprisingly they were welcomed with the sight of a mob of Halloweentown citizens crowded around a street corner.

The mob were murmuring amongst themselves and looking over their shoulders. Barrel and Shadow looked over with confusion and wandered towards them. They recognised Ethan amongst the crowd. The corpse boy looked over and saw his friends. He quickly approached them saying "Did you guys see anything odd on your way here?"

Shadow answered quickly "No, not really. What happened?"

"Someone is dead, they've been murdered. He has hand prints all over his neck so he was probably strangled!"

"Who was murdered?"

"Morty, the cyclops guy!" Ethan sighed "The musicians found his body on the corner and some ghost lady floating off. People are just hanging around for Jack and the Mayor to get here."

"I'm sorry to hear that, but we must be off. We have to go pick up something for Spectre." Shadow pulled Barrel along with her by his arm. "Let me know what's going on."

Ethan waved "Will do."

Shadow and Barrel kept walking towards their destination. Barrel leant over and whispered into her ear "Maybe it's good that Morty is dead, his voice was so high pitched and annoying."

Shadow giggled to herself quietly. She then answered "Be careful, they might suspect you with remarks like that."

"You giggled, so you agree with me."

"True, but I didn't say the original comment."

Barrel then realised they were at the doorstep of Gil's shop. It was a large rundown shanty on the edges of the Black Lake and Hemlock Homestead. The area itself was more like a swamp due to the runoff from the slums of Halloweentown. It was a popular region of town for aquatic and semi-aquatic monsters. Most terrestrial monsters avoided this place because it stank of old fish and organic materials decomposing in the mud.

Gil opened the door of his shanty hut and said "Sorry I'm not open yet, oh! Shadow, what can I do for you this morning?"

The merman showed his guests in and closed the door behind them. Barrel marvelled at all the jars and flasks of unrecognisable organs, muscle and bones. The shelves were lined up in rows with a counter towards the back of the hut. A door behind the counter obviously led to the more illegal cuts of meat. Barrel continued to examine the strange contents of the jars while ignoring the interaction between Shadow and Gil.

Shadow smiled "Morning Gil, do you have any of the remains from the recently killed humans you sold me?"

"Ah, that large order of spinal cords! Don't tell me you've run out already. It's hard to get those."

"I have, but the re-order can wait. I need to know if you have the clothes or wallets from those people."

"Afraid not, I have to incinerate the clothing from humans to cover myself. You know, in case someone gets nosey."

Shadow sighed and folded her arms "Damn it..."

"Let me guess, a human spirit has cursed whoever ate the spinal cord?"

"Yeah, how did you know?"

Gil laughed under his breath. He elaborated "It sometimes happens when the spinal cord comes from a priest or a psychic or something like that. It's quite a rare occurrence but it does happen."

"So how do you fix it?"

Gil handed her a slip of parchment "Just get a witch to mix this up for them. Nothing too obscure, just some normal witching ingredients."

"Cool, thanks Gil." Shadow turned to see Barrel having a staring contest with a jar of eyes. She clapped him on the back and said "Come on, let's go."

"Aw, but I was winning!" Barrel complained as he followed her.

* * *

As far as they could tell rumour of Morty's murder had spread quickly. The citizens of Halloweentown were murmuring and gossiping more than usual in the town square. Their slightly quietened whispers would abruptly untangle with gasps of horror and screeches of disbelief over the event. Shadow assumed Jack and the Mayor were already at the scene of the crime as the crowds around that fateful alleyway grew in mass. She just kept walking, knowing that if people realised the murderer was a banshee it would mean Jokers would never be welcome in Halloweentown again. She knew the thought was selfish in caring only for herself but she also didn't fight for the right to be a mad scientist all those years ago when Dr Finklestein was in charge for nothing.

Barrel kept his mouth shut with difficulty the anticipation of asking Shadow about the mystery ghost lady in the graveyard was burning on the tip of his tongue. He kept following her silently through the fountain square, past the crypts, beyond the walls of the cemetery and back to the desolate path leading to the tree house. He couldn't take it any longer and knew there was no one around.

Barrel grabbed Shadow by the arm and demanded the truth "Who was that lady! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me before my brain explodes!"

"Calm down Barrel, your brain can't explode from over thinking, the worst you'll get is a headache." Shadow pulled her arm away from him and answered "But I did say I'd tell you later and it's later now."

Barrel rocked on the balls of his feet like a hyperactive puppy "Seriously! Do it already!"

"Alright, when I was a kid and still living in Sleepy Hollow, there was an idolised Joker known as Lunaria or Lady Luna. She was the best delusion class Joker to ever live and her torture techniques were second to none... however she went a little crazy and started massacring humans who were innocent."

"And then what! Tell me!"

Shadow let out a sigh "Maybe if you stop interrupting me! Anyway, the elders caught and trialled her for her actions and she was found guilty. However they needed to find a fitting punishment for her as she would be equally dangerous to be killed and reborn as a banshee."

Barrel pondered "So they stitched her mouth shut? Seems a bit lame... I mean, sure a banshee's scream is their power but seriously that doesn't seem too bad."

"They did more than that," Shadow shivered from the thought "With the consultation of a powerful witch's magic and a few of the ancient Joker encrypted texts... they performed an elaborate sacrificial ritual. Lunaria basically had her mind flayed and soul drained in the process of her death meaning she cannot use her full powers or recall her memories."

"So she's a mindless ghost now?"

"I doubt it, she really was one of the best in my clan. It wouldn't surprise me if a tiny piece of her sanity still remains in that ghostly prison of her body. Why she would come here is beyond me let alone kill someone... she usually wanders the farthest reaches of this world."

Barrel chuckled in an attempt to lighten the sombre mood "Still, she was only a delusion so that's controlling people's dreams. How bad could she be?"

"Be careful what you say Barrel," Shadow warned in a dark voice "Sometimes dreams are more dangerous than nightmares."

He stared at her in confusion. Shadow shrugged nonchalantly and handed him the parchment Gil had given her. She said in a serious tone "I need to make contact with the clan elders and inform them of what's taken place. Take this to Shock and get her to mix this up to cure Spectre."

"Wait, what? Shadow, what's really going on?"

"I don't know, but I know it can't be good. I'd appreciate it if you kept this conversation and what we saw to yourself until investigators from Sleepy Hollow have made their reports." She walked off back in the direction of the Acid Works. Barrel turned slowly and wandered up the drawbridge door into the tree house.

* * *

The sounds of Hayley and Shock singing out of tune welcomed him back into his humble abode. Barrel found them both sprawled on the coffin couch clinking mugs of coffee together in an attempt to sober up. Spectre had been dragged in front of the couch to act as their footrest while he remained delirious and passing in and out of consciousness. Barrel waved the piece of parchment in front of Shock "Can you make this? Spectre needs it to get better."

"Let's see... nightshade, belladonna, night crawlers, some venus fly traps and the eye of a vulture... no worries I got all that in my cupboard of reagents." Shock rose from her seat snatching the piece of parchment as she walked into her room.

Barrel plonked himself down next to Hayley and put an arm around her. The demonette looked around and queried "Where's Shadow? Wasn't she with you?"

Barrel thought quickly and remembered Shadow's warning. He didn't think he could do it to Hayley, but he lied "Yeah, but she had an experiment to attend to back at the lab."

Spectre growled in a half dazed state "That's odd... unless she's talking to someone in her room again..."

"What do you mean?"

"Well sometimes I pass her room and hear her talking to someone and I can hear their voices too, but when I open the door there's no one in there but Shadow."

"Maybe she's good at ventriloquism?"

"No way... then again, why should she tell me everything?"

Hayley piped up "I thought you two were dating?"

"Not really, we're just fuck buddies."

"But it's not like you run off with everyone else in your spare time. You're both loyal to each other."

"That's more a hygiene thing, not an emotional connection."

Hayley rolled her eyes "Sure Spectre, whatever you say."

Barrel remained silent from hearing about Shadow's mystery meetings. There really was a lot he didn't quite understand about Jokers. Yet with the emergence of Lady Luna and Morty's murder he wasn't sure if he wanted to find out.

* * *

Shadow paced around her bedroom back at the main tower of the Acid Works. She took a deep breath and recomposed herself. The mirror on her wall wavered like water showing the clear image of four elderly Jokers from each class staring back at her. Each adorned with the elaborate sacred robes and markings of their sector. It was a simple spell Joker's used on reflective surfaces to keep in touch with one another.

Shadow realised out loud "So... that's why you've been in contact with me lately and asking about Lady Luna... she vanished from her holding pen at the edge of the world."

The elder of the scarecrows replied "We don't know what happened Shadow. There must be a fluctuation in the magic fields."

The elder of the delusions added "Or she has become drawn to someone with overly powerful dreams that she can manipulate. We still don't know how much of her magic she retained through her death."

The elder of the aristocrats remarked "Either that or she managed to find Lady Halliwell and wants revenge on her for helping us with the ritual."

The elder of the jesters silenced her brethren "I believe it is a combination of all those factors, something must have happened to start all this. A catalyst, if you will."

Shadow was almost tearing her hair out from the panic coursing through her "But what could it be? Nothing that dramatic has happened recently!"

"We will send three others to help investigate Halloweentown with you. I've already informed Eve, Gloom and Dark to arrive at your home tomorrow morning. I thought sending your friends would make things easier."

"Yes, thankyou elder."

"No one else saw Lady Luna, correct? Just you and this Barrel."

"Yes, he's trustworthy so we have no concern of rumours starting from him."

"Please search and explore all possible theories. We must get to the bottom of this."

"I understand." Shadow bowed to the mirror as the image of the Joker elders faded. She sat down on her bed still stunned by the discovery. _'By the night sky... what must we do now?'_


	11. The mask falls

Jonathan whistled happily to himself as he meandered casually through the Acid Works. He was a quick learner so it wasn't long before the other mad scientists were trusting him (even if it was only grunt work). Still there was something nice about feeding all the deranged mutants the lab called animals. After all, he had never been allowed to keep a pet at home. He sighed it was warm beneath his mask and extra layers of clothing. Checking over his shoulder and seeing no one was there he removed his mask. He had to breathe some fresh air.

A voice asked "Hey Jonathan."

Jonathan turned to find a witch with crazy black hair and green skin dressed in purple behind him. _'When the hell did she get there! Crap what was her name again?'_ He replied "Uh, good morning Shock, awful weather we're having."

She raised an eyebrow and looked like she had been hit with some sort of wet fish. Jonathan realised what she was looking at. He quickly attempted to cover his face with his mask again.

Shock stuttered "You... you're a... you're a human!"

Jonathan sighed with annoyance "Not exactly, I just LOOK human, ok! That's why I wear the mask!" He focused his ability, the skin and muscles on his face melting away to reveal bone "I'm a skeletal ghost. We look human unless we decide not to. I don't understand how a human and witch makes that species but it's happened."

Shock felt somewhat disgusted yet mesmerised to watch his face go from bone to flesh again. She asked "Does anyone else know?"

Jonathan slipped his mask on "Aside from you, just my family. I'd appreciate it if you keep it secret."

"That's fine." Shock smirked, Jonathan partly regretted what had happened because he had effectively supplied her with blackmail material.

Jonathan asked "Why are you here anyway?"

"Came to talk to Shadow, with all the weird things going on I wanted to talk with her."

"Well then, may I escort you to the main lab?"

"Please."

They headed up the main path to the tower. However they were both surprised when they entered the main chamber to see Shadow and Spectre talking with three people they had never seen before. Judging by the markings they were Jokers too.

There was a blonde girl with blue eyes and lips, she had blue jester markings beneath and above both her eyes. She wore a tasteful black, purple and red dress made from scraps of fabric and high heeled knee high boots. Beside her was a tall man with green eyes, an orange jester marking bellow one of his eyes and was wearing a fine suit with his long brown hair tied back into a low ponytail. The third was about the same height as Jonathan with wild black hair beneath a jester's hat. He had green eyes and green markings beneath both of his eyes and wore a grey shirt with long technicolour pants. All their clothes seemed to be marked with the same symbol on Shadow's shirt suggesting they were from the same clan.

Shadow waved to them "Ah Jonathan, Shock, nice timing. I'd like you to meet my friends from Sleepy Hollow who are staying for a few months to see what life in the big city is like."

'_Wait, first she has these talks in her room, then Morty dies and now these guys have shown up. I am sooo gonna grill Shadow later.'_ Shock thought as she noticed her friend had not changed in demeanour at all.

"This is Eve," the blonde girl waved "And Gloom, her husband" the tall gentleman bowed his head "and this is Dark." The black haired boy smiled wickedly.

"Nice to meet you all." Jonathan said happily "So uh.. where are you guys staying?"

Eve giggled "We were going to try to find a hotel then we realised that there are none here."

Shock suggested "Why not stay with Harlequin? He's got a spare room."

"But surely all three can't stay there." Jonathan sighed "Well... if you can't find anywhere let me know because my house is pretty big."

Gloom smiled "Thankyou very much for the offer, we will consider it."

Dark added "Yeah, thanks Jonny boy. Anyway, is there anything fun to do around here? Any sights to see?"

Shock offered "Yeah, we could show you around later if you want."

Inside however Jonathan was baffled as the conversation kept going._ 'Why did I just say all that? I don't even know them...'_

"Uh Shadow..." Spectre whispered to her "Do I have to be worried about Gloom or Dark?"

She shook her head "No, why would you ask that?"

"Just some things I've been thinking about lately." Spectre sighed as he headed upstairs to the main lab.

'_What's wrong with him? Boys sure are weird.'_ Shadow thought before leaping back into the main conversation. Spectre went back into the lab and closed the door silencing the conversation and laughter. He didn't quite know what was wrong with him either.

* * *

"But... But... But..." The Mayor's brain couldn't take this information at all. He looked like his head was about to spin around in an endless cycle and smoke was going to waft from his ears. He thought it was going to be a normal meeting as Jack called him to his manor. With all the craziness surrounding Morty's murder a meeting was needed.

Jack reassured "I'm sure you and Malice can handle things here. We'll only be gone for about a week."

"But... NOW! You have to go to Mexico, now!"

"Yes, it's the only time I can see my ancestor. I know this is a concerning matter but at the same time I need to speak with her."

The Mayor panicked "Please tell me you're joking? I can't handle this kind of pressure."

"But Malice can help you, remember? She's old enough now and has a rank equal to yours."

"Yes... you're right." The Mayor laughed "I keep forgetting how old she is..."

Jack sighed "I promise we won't be longer than a week. Please, surely you understand as a father that I need to do this."

"No, you're right, have a safe trip."

The Mayor left Jack's manor and headed back to his house. Once he was alone he screamed in sheer fright. He had to get it all out of his system so he could focus.


	12. Lady of the Dead

Sally couldn't believe her eyes as she stood upon the ruins of Tenochtitlan, it was the most breath taking sight she had ever seen. It was on an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco in the Valley of Mexico completely surrounded by beautiful mountain formations and serene water. The ruined city was triumph of the Aztec Empire. The stone buildings rose from the earth in defiance of time, these buildings would last forever as a testament to the great empire that once ruled these lands. The supernatural energies of this place were beyond belief. The lands were protected by ancient gods, goddesses and spirits, some of which had been forgotten by human minds. They cloaked the island in a wavering aura that seemed to separate it from the reality of the humans.

The ragdoll panicked as she saw a group of humans at the edge of a building. Surely they had seen her and Jack standing at the gateway to the largest temple. But they oddly seemed uninterested, like they weren't even there. An eerie voice said "Hello my friends, you must be the Pumpkin King and Queen from Halloweentown. Don't worry about the humans, we're invisible to them."

Jack turned to face an ancient looking skeleton draped in the tattered remains of an Aztec priest's robe. An ethereal jaguar sat beside him waiting patiently.

"Yes, we are. I'm Jack and this is Sally." He replied politely, Sally curtseyed a bit unsure of the appropriate greeting for their culture. Jack smiled "Are you Itzli?"

"Indeed and this is Teyacapan, she was reborn as one of the guardian of these ruins." The skeleton gestured to the spirit jaguar who bowed her head slightly. "Come this way, the lady of the dead is waiting for you."

Nervously Sally took Jack's arm as they followed their guides into the temple. It felt like they were passing through a thick curtain of cobwebs as the world around them disintegrated into blackness. Oddly their feet met solid ground as they descended through the darkness. Teyacapan's ghostly body illuminated the darkness and acted as a beacon to follow. Soon enough they began to hear music, festive, lively music echoing in the distance and becoming louder with each step. Finally they came to a glowing doorway, light spilling into the inky darkness, almost like it was dancing.

The sight that welcomed them would never be forgotten. The chamber was large and made of ancient stone with fountains and small streams flowing around the edges. Strange jungle plants of the netherworld crept and curled over the wide, open windowsills and doorways. The various torches blazed with turquoise and violet flames. It was an eerie yet beautiful Aztec temple with spirits and creatures of their mythology dancing with gusto to the lively music. The view outside seemed like an alternate reality of the ruins where the spirits and the dead dwelled rather than the living.

Teyacapan slinked away from them and pounced after her jaguar brethren in the jungles outside. Itzli gestured to a skeleton in the crowd and said "May I present to you, the lady of the dead."

Within the group of dancing creatures, one woman stood out. She was a skeleton, her bones yellowed and discoloured with time. Her body was draped in an elaborate gown that resembled a catrina doll from Dia de los Muertos shaded in emerald greens, turquoise and deep blues. The tattered layers of her skirts swirled as she moved across the dance floor with mesmerising elegance. Upon her head was band of red roses and marigolds with an ancient tattered veil draped behind her like hair. She was beautiful and danced with spider like grace. It was clear through her movements that Jack was somehow related to her.

She then noticed Jack and Sally standing at the edge of the room. She swayed over to them with a smile "Thankyou Itzli, now go, enjoy the party."

Itzli bowed gracefully before running off into the crowd. The Lade of the Dead said "Jack Skellington I presume?"

He bowed and admited "Yes, but I am not entirely sure what to call you..."

"I have gone by many names and many different looks over the eras, for a while I was known as Mictecacihuatl, Queen of Mictlan, Santa Muerte, Senora de las Sombras, Senora Blanca, Senora Negra, Nina Santa, La Flanca" She laughed to herself, amused by her answer "But now people usually call me La Calavera Catrina. But I prefer Catrina. Welcome to my realm child."

"It's an honour to meet you." Jack felt slightly embarrassed, Catrina was revered as a goddess at one and the best he had ever achieved was the Pumpkin King.

Catrina noticed the ragdoll beside him "And who is this enchanting creature?"

"This is my wife, Sally. I uh... explained our situation in my letter."

"Yes, I'm surprised your parents never sat you down and gave you the talk Jack."

Jack was lost for words. Sally quickly answered "So... it is possible to have a child between us?"

"Of course, after all, skeletons mate with their souls, not their bodies."

Jack added "But that makes no sense."

Catrina looked at them both and smiled with a knowing look in her eye sockets "Breathe in the essence of this realm, let it become one with you and you will see it for what it really is."

They looked at each other with disbelief. Then hesitantly, Jack and Sally did something they didn't do on a regular basis. They took a deep breath.

The air felt different here, like a thick mist seeping into them. Jack then saw what Catrina meant, he could see the souls of this world. All the skeletons were covered with elaborate neon coloured markings, much like sugar skulls. The other creatures were also flickers of dancing rainbow lights. Everything here was so alive with colour.

Catrina gestured to him "Do you see now?"

Jack noticed his bones glowing with light just like the other skeletons. Sally on the other hand resembled a ghost, her long hair wavering behind her like she was underwater. She gently stroked Jack's face "But... how?"

"No harm will come to you in these forms and you will be able to return to your world unchanged." Catrina waved her arms dramatically "But while you are here, embrace your love and celebrate life and death with us!"

Jack remembered his responsibilities "How long will this take? I have a city to run and a holiday to plan!"

"That's up to you, stay as long as you need to. It takes a while for a skeletal child to form, if you wish to leave your child here I will bring it to you when it is ready to be birthed a physical form." Catrina smiled "That is the way of our species we must be born spiritually before we appear physically."

Catrina swirled back into the chaos of the dance floor. The celebration never seemed to skip a beat or pause. Jack and Sally smiled to one another. Jack said "Well... we never really had a honeymoon after all."


	13. Lock's Obsession

"Night Lock!" called Behemoth as the devil trekked further into the darkness of the pumpkin fields. He waved sluggishly back, it seemed that since he was kicked out of the tree house he had lost all energy. After all, he couldn't recall a time when he didn't live in that crooked shanty. There was no memory from before he was given the title of one of Boogie's henchmen. The fields eventually thinned out from their symmetry of crops and swirling rivers to the unruly chaos of the briars.

Lock passed the stone wall that stopped the thorns from invading the fields. He averted his eyes momentarily at the sight of burlap caressing burlap. Rusty, the mute scarecrow and Behemoth's moonshine buddy, was currently sharing an intimate moment with Boogie, Oogie's older sister and Shock's current tutor into become the crime lord of gambling.

Boogie noticed him, flicking one of the tails of her head over her shoulder and grinning "Lock-ie boy, where you wandering off to?"

"Just... home..." he dared not look her in the eye. She may have torn herself apart and sewn herself with various frames to look like a voluptuous woman. But knowing she was related to Oogie, perhaps even worse than him as a person, it made his blood chill. Boogie merely laughed cruelly at him. No doubt Shock had informed her of Lock's infidelity and left no detail out. Feeling worse than before he slunk off into the briars, it was now the only place that gave him comfort.

* * *

The twisted thorns of overgrown vines soon obscured the night sky. The deeper one went into the briars the more it shifted into a nightmarish labyrinth. However Lock had taken up a small project of his own to distract himself from Shock and keep away from Halloweentown. Given the way witches gossiped there was no telling how far his reputation as a lover had fallen so it was best to keep his head down and stay low. Now devoid of distractions he could focus on the mysterious boy he had encountered all those weeks ago, Jonathan Halliwell. Lock had seen him travelling through the briars and fields to Halloweentown. Always immaculately dressed and covered from head to toe. From his talks with Fang on the midnight moonshine runs it seemed that Jonathan had been employed as a helper at the Acid Works. Also something about Morty being murdered and more Jokers coming to town asking questions, but that wasn't his concern at the moment.

The devil reappeared in his small shelter made from the husk of an ancient tree. In his childhood he had made this little home away from home with Barrel and Shock. Untouched by anyone, it still stood mighty and strong, even if it was now a little cramped. He doubted the three of them could stay there comfortably like they used to. Lock crawled through the small opening among the roots and unfolded in the small cavern the tree hid beneath its bark and soil. He rummaged through the pack of his belongings and retrieved a scroll of parchment. It unfurled across the floor to reveal a detailed map of the briars with certain points and symbols scribbled on it.

'_Where is he coming from?'_ Lock mused as he carefully looked over the map _'Only one more place to check before I've covered it all. He must be there, it wouldn't make any sense if he's not! But it's been locked up since forever... how could a human even get in there?'_

His thoughts were interrupted by a strange knocking on the tree wall followed by a voice "Lock? You in there? Fang told me you were living in the briars now."

"Barrel!?" Lock snatched up his map and crawled through the opening. He was greeted with Barrel's friendly smile and a strange boy with a jester hat, most likely a Joker. His smile immediately folded to frown as he growled "Who's this weirdo?"

Barrel happily informed "This is Dark, he's one of Shadow's friends and kind of a cool guy."

"And you must be Lock. Barrel's only told me good things about you," Dark lowered his voice to nervously admit "And Shock only had abuse to throw in your direction."

Lock rolled his eyes "Yeah... so what do you two want with me? I'm kinda busy."

Barrel put an arm around him "Well, Fang also told me you were acting batshit crazy obsessing over the briars and how you saw a human there."

Dark finished "And with all the weird stuff happening in town we thought we'd come check out what you've found."

"Well..." Lock paused momentarily, noticing the determined looks on their faces. He then answered "Feel like breaking and entering?"

The briars seemed to part around the ancient manor. It looked every bit as creepy and spine tingling as the rest of the Halloweentown. Yet its size and elaborate design rivalled Skellington manor. Even the wind was too scared to whisper and the moon had hidden behind a shield of brooding clouds. All there was, was simply the manor, towering before them as ominous as an ancient fort. There were no signs of life emanating from within or any detail that hinted it had been lived in for the past few centuries. Barrel looked up, plotting a way of getting in through one of the second or third storey windows. "You sure there would be a human in here?"

Lock snapped "Positive, there's nowhere else that bastard could hide!"

Dark tilted his head, examining it from a different perspective. From his eyes the entire building was surrounded by rings and barriers of magic. He couldn't even see a mark indicating who wove them. "This place is covered in a pretty strong illusion. I don't think I could break it..."

Barrel asked, looking to the Joker "What kind of illusion? Can you tell?"

"Not really."

"Some fucking help you are." Lock snorted as he headed towards the front steps.

Dark protested "I wouldn't do that if I were you!"

"Why?" Lock uttered as his foot made contact with the step, instantly propelling him into the air and through the briars. Barrel and Dark winced at the sound of him crashing in the distance.

A few moments later Lock emerged near the manor again looking furious "Why the fuck didn't you warn me!?"

Dark smugly answered "You didn't let me finish my explanation, besides a demonstration is much more useful."

"Well smart arse, what was the rest of it!?"

"The magic here keeps whatever lives in there," he pointed to the house "separate from everything out here. You can only get in there if you're invited in or if someone in there drops the barrier."

Barrel said dismally "So we can't break in?"

Dark sighed "No."

"Not even a little bit?"

"Not even any bit."

"That's it!? I can't even check here?" Lock snarled, he stomped the ground with frustration.

"Who disturbs my slumber!?" roared a thundering voice.

The trio turned nervously to face the house, but it was unchanged, unmoving.

"Get your pathetic hides in here and explain yourselves before I have your guts for garters!"

An unseen hand roughly grabbed Lock, Barrel and Dark by the scruff of their shirts before throwing them violently towards the front door. It was miraculous the ancient door actually opened so the house could swallow them.


	14. The flying couch rises!

Darkness swirled before their eyes as they were roughly spiralled through the air. Much to their shock they found themselves slowing and then landing rather gently on a monstrously sized couch. The ancient study loomed around them, the ornate book shelves were almost looking down upon them. In fact some of the spines of various tomes had eyes of their own. The fire place wasn't light and the curtains were only parted by a fraction only revealing a sharp line of light into the room. It wasn't enough to reveal everything but enough to cast light on them.

A shadowy figure moving with spider like grace came before them and snarled "Now then, who are you? Why are you here in the dead of night while my lady is resting!?"

Barrel dumbly responded "Lady? Which lady?"

Lock and Dark were clinging to the couch like they were about to be torn from their seat at any moment. The two boys were far too petrified to utter a single word.

"The Lady of the Manor, Lady Halliwell. So, who sent you? The elder witches? Come to check on her activities in the dead of night like common criminals! You disgust me!"

"Actually we were looking for someone... well, Lock was looking for someone." Barrel gave the devil a thumbs up "You wouldn't happen to know if there were any humans hiding here? My friend is convinced he saw one a few months ago."

"I can assure you there has been no such thing here. Now away with you now!" the figure threw up his arms and the force that followed was nothing short of mind blowing. The couch came to life and was propelled backwards through the window and out into the night.

"Magic couch ride!" Barrel cheered

Lock shrieked "What the fuck is going on!?"

Dark screamed "I did not sign up for this!"

Their screams faded into the distance as the couch vanished into the night. The figure went over to a nearby orb resting upon a pedestal and waved his bony hand over it. In an instant the window mended itself, another couch was summoned from the floor and the fireplace ignited again.

Jeremy removed the shadowy garb he donned when intruders came. He stretched elegantly, satisfied with the prank he had pulled and how quickly he vacated them. The old skeleton butler resumed his dusting without a second thought.

Moments later a witch entered the room, she was tall and lithe with emerald tinged skin. Her short black hair hugged her shoulders and an old witch hat perched on her head. She adjusted the layers of skirts that trailed behind her. Her dress could only be described as out of fashion as witches had stopped donning such elaborate dark robes when the medieval era came to an end. But she was never one to just abandon something on the whim of fashion trends.

"Ah, Lady Halliwell," Jeremy noticed the frown on her face "I mean... Sharon."

"I heard you using my magic orb from my apothecary chamber." She teased with a smile "So, who decided to wander here tonight?"

"Just a devil, a green haired man and strange man with jester hat."

"The strange man had markings on his face and hands?"

"Yes, I do believe so."

"That was a Joker, Jeremy."

"A Joker?" The skeleton scratched his skull "Now I that I think about it I've never seen one in real life before. I only know about them from the stories about your days in Sleepy Hollow."

"But because he was Joker..." Sharon looked around the room, pausing to listen for something "He probably wasn't the only one to come in."

"What do you mean?" Jeremy received no response as Sharon had already disappeared out the chamber. Her high heels were already clacking on the steps to the second floor.

* * *

Shock never thought she'd be happy to find herself in a room that resembled a necromancer's attempt to make a friend. But after hiding in the darkness alongside Shadow she was glad to be back in the light and the world of the living. The two girls had concocted this scheme in order to not only investigate anything unusual in the briars but also so Shock could avoid speaking with Lock. As she readjusted herself Shock drank in her surroundings of meticulously catalogued shelves and tables scattered with various tools. Old bones and dried body parts were scattered amongst jars of peculiar and extremely rare looking plants. She noticed a nearby label "This is the pancreas of a phoenix... and over here, unicorn semen!? These animals are extinct, how could these be here?"

Shadow shrugged "No idea, but this place is pretty weird. You saw how it ate the boys."

"That's not exactly something I could miss. Does illusion magic always make your eyeballs itch and your skin crawl?"

"If you're not used to it... maybe?" Shadow glanced around "So what are we looking for?"

"Any traces of banshee or magic to summon a banshee."

"How can you trace a banshee? They're a type of ghost, they actually have nothing to trace!"

"Good point... this is going to be trickier than I thought. I didn't expect the inside of this manor to be so well organised." Shock opened the door a crack to see into the hallway. Knowing the coast was clear the two girls ventured out of the chamber and into a grand corridor. The manor seemed a lot bigger on the inside now they were here.

A portrait hanging on a wall caught Shadow's eye, the Joker approached it to get a better look. It appeared to be of a family, the parents were a witch and a human while the children appeared to look human but had rather peculiar glints in their eyes. All were wearing formal and ornate regalia, a throwback to an era of decadence and nobility.

"What did you find Shadow?" Shock froze by her side and said "A witch and a human!? Oh no... oh hell no! We have to get out of here right now!" She grabbed Shadow's arm and tried to drag her off.

Shadow resisted, tearing her arm from her friend's grip "Calm down and whisper damn it! What do you mean? Shock, what do you know!?"

"We are in the manor of Lady Halliwell, a woman who was once a paragon of the witch community... but... she fell in love with a human and was banished from the district, even Halloweentown... even her ability to cast spells has been limited with the elder witches checking everything she acquires." Shock kept looking over her shoulder "But, no one ever knew where she lived now, if this is her home I don't want to see her or any of her hellspaw-" She then noticed the features of one of Lady Halliwell's sons "Jonathan!? He's Halliwell's son!?"

Shadow said "Jonathan? As in poltergeist Jonathan that's been helping out at the lab?"

"He's not a poltergeist, he wears that stuff because he looks like a normal human."

Shadow cringed at the thought, Jokers had always been taught to regard humans as lower beings to be judged and if the need arose, corrected.

"Well this is an interesting development indeed." The two girls turned to see Lady Halliwell in the flesh behind them. Before they could react the older woman laughed "Please, you stopped being sneaky the moment you saw this portrait."

"Uh... um..." Shadow looked to Shock for support but the witch appeared to have lost her voice "You see, we... well, we don't have a reason for coming here."

"And yet you get past my butler by hiding in the shadows and using that Scarecrow class Joker's tricks to warp up here unnoticed."

"Right, seems like we did have a good reason for coming here to go to that trouble... Shock, now would be a good time to use your silver tongue."

"Wait a minute, you're Shadow aren't you?"

"Yes... I am... why?"

"Jonathan told me about how you work with him at the Acid Works. Which means," she glanced at Shock "That this must be Shock."

The younger witch tipped her hat and curtseyed "Yes ma'am... please don't kill us."

"I wouldn't do that, makes too much of a mess and Jeremy has enough cleaning duties as it is." Lady Halliwell cackled "Tell you what, I'm a little out of sorts with the recent activities of Halloweentown so, maybe you could tell me what's been happening lately." She walked ahead of them obviously leading the way downstairs "And by the way, call me Sharon!"

Shock and Shadow looked to one another, this was definitely an unexpected turn of events. At least if they had found some wayward soul that chose to summon Lady Luna it would have been a lot easier to deal with.


	15. The flying couch crashes!

Mr Hyde quickly bundled together the various scrolls and handed it to Kamen. The mummy then checked them sealed them with orange wax and an ancient looking crest. The symbols themselves supposedly spelt out words such as secrets, history, knowledge and power. But people in their line of work were fully aware of the true power knowledge held, the ability to both reveal and conceal, to provide a divide between fact and fiction. Such things were their mantras as they kept all their recorded archives of information within the ancient house that had probably been standing longer than the rest of Halloweentown.

Spectre uneasily sat on the worn down chair, he always feared the place would crumble around his ears if he made the wrong move. Even the walls were cracked with lightning shaped scars and the furniture would've been new a few eons ago. Mr Hyde handed him the bundle of scrolls while Kamen accepted a thick manuscript from the table.

"An account of every experiment Dr Finklestein did?" Kamen mused "Definitely worth a pretty penny here."

Mr Hyde's hat lifted to reveal a smaller version of himself "Enough for the details you require about banshees and their history in Halloweentown."

Spectre sighed and bowed "Thankyou for this, I know it's a big ask and I'm starting to run out of things to give you. The old archives at the Acid Works only have so much that's still readable."

An even smaller version of Mr Hyde piped up "Yet what is confusing is why you need such information? Banshees haven't dwelled in Halloweentown for centuries."

"I'm just helping Shadow with some research... that's all." Spectre packed the scrolls away into his leather satchel "I bid you both goodnight!" He said as he abruptly left the house.

Mr Hyde put a finger to his chin "What a strange reaction?"

The middle sized version of himself added "He hasn't been the same lately, has he?"

The smallest suggested "Are things with Shadow on the rocks?"

"Who knows?" Kamen shrugged nonchalantly "They seem to hide details about their private lives very well."

The overcast sky obscured the calming light of the moon. Spectre felt a little nervous as he made his way through town and found that it was almost a ghost town. There seemed to be no one around at all, not even the street musicians were playing their usual ghastly repertoire. This only motivated him to pick up the pace so he could return to the safety of the Acid Works. As he entered the town square he heard screams coming from the graveyard. Driven by curiosity, he decided to investigate and headed out through the town gate. Then instantly regretted the decision as he was welcomed by a frightening sight.

The Hanging Tree was split in half, almost like he had been struck lighting yet that made no logical sense. There was no sign of any thunderstorms at all. The tree's hanged men were calling him, trying to rouse him from his stupor and growing more panicked as the withered old monster remained still upon the ground. The culprit of such a violent act was a ghostly woman with a sewn up mouth. She was wafting over him and almost smiling at the damage she had done.

'_If he doesn't get to Jewel, he'll die!'_ thought Spectre as he tried to formulate some way of helping him.

Lady Luna felt another's presence here in the graveyard. Not a ghost but a solid creature of flesh and bone. Lifting her gaze she saw a walking corpse with a metal arm, a witness to her acts. A witness she now had to deal with, she couldn't blow her cover just yet. A single conscious thought hung tantalisingly in her mind, the only shred of sanity she could muster _'The beacon... haven't found it... must find it!'_. The ancient banshee stretched her hands into claw like appendages and swooped towards her prey.

"Shit!" Spectre cried while he clumsily dove out of the way and into the dirt. Lady Luna grazed his shoulder as she soared past. She then flipped around and lunged at him, this time catching him and pinning him down with the force of her arms.

"Arrow of light!" shouted a voice.

Lady Luna looked up to see a masked man drawing the shape of a bow in the air with his hands. A strange light seemed to radiate from his fingers as he moved as one would while drawing a bow and taking aim at a target. He released the shaft of light in one swift movement. The arrow pierced through her and knocked her back. Spectre scrambled to his feet and ran over to his saviour "Thanks Jonathan. Where the hell did you learn how to do that?"

Jonathan snapped "She's coming back!? She's too fast!"

The sounds of screams overhead rang out in that moment as Lady Luna was crushed. A couch had dropped from the sky and landed on top of her. Jonathan and Spectre remained perfectly still and silent. They were still unsure as to whether what had happened... had actually happened.

Spectre said, almost disbelieving what he was asking "Was that a flying couch?"

"Yes... was that some kind of experiment gone wrong?" Jonathan nervously chuckled "Like a... call-a-couch kind of thing?"

"Or summoning a couch from the netherworld?"

"You two going to stand there like idiots or are you going to help us!?" Lock growled as he tried to stand. But his body was in too much pain, Dark and Barrel were in similar states as they were sprawled between the broken remains of couch and the muddy earth.

Jonathan asked "Did you guys see where that lady went?"

"What fucking lady? We were just ejected from a bloody house by some freak!"

Spectre said "I'll go get Igor and Jewel, we'll patch them up at the Acid Works." Before sprinting off as fast as he could manage, the entire time he was holding onto that satchel like his life depended on it.


End file.
